


Kickin' & Screamin'

by LindsayIsTheCraic



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Soccer, delinquents are kids, kabby focused, kicking and screaming au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2018-10-30 06:14:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 106,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10870797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LindsayIsTheCraic/pseuds/LindsayIsTheCraic
Summary: Meet the Lifesavers, the worst team in Arkadia’s U12 soccer league. In last place, they haven’t won a single game. Coach Griffin has a colorful selection of words for anyone who underestimates her team.Meet the Assassins, the second to worst team in Arkadia’s U12 soccer league. With one win every year, they sit right above the Lifesavers in the standings, the only team they ever win against. Coach Kane likes to brag at least he wins a game.But can the two coaches put aside their rivalry when the time calls for them to combine teams and take their ten delinquents to the top?Fate says no, but Coach Griffin has a few specific words in response to that. And hell, if their only win of the season is against the infamous Mount Weather, then so be it. Coach Kane will brag about it to his grave.And how can they defeat fate? By using the secret weapon they both possess more than any other team: hope.





	1. There's nothing wrong with being a loser, it just depends on how good you are at it

**Author's Note:**

> still working on the planning for this story but I wanted to get a general feel for what it'll go like up. Hope you enjoy! Whose team are you rooting for?
> 
> All the love,  
> Lindsay :)

Ah, summer.

The smell of the freshly cut grass, the sun shining brightly in a clear sky, and the sound of kids cheerfully playing outside. No more staying up late to pack the kid’s lunch for school the next day because you forgot to earlier because that afternoon nap was _needed_ after a long day at work. It was time to sit outside, have a nice glass of lemonade, and enjoy the summer.

And maybe Coach Griffin could enjoy it, only if the Lifesavers could win one goddamn game, just _one_.

Is that really too much to ask for? Apparently, it was.

The Lifesavers have never won a game since the team formed under Coach Griffin four years ago. Coach Griffin thought it would be a fun way to get involved with her daughter after her husband had passed away. She thought it would be a fun recreational activity that would take her mind off her busy days at the hospital.

She was wrong.

The kids drove her up the wall when they didn’t listen at practice or at games. Murphy loves to tease the shit out of Wells. Jasper never pays attention, he’s always gazing at the grass or sky. Raven likes to cause mischief, regardless of who it’s done to. At this point, Wells and Clarke are the only sane children who actually seem to want to play soccer.

The referee, oh don’t get her started, never makes the right call. I mean, really, who throws out a coach at their first game? Sure, Coach Griffin may have used some selective words, but it happened _once_! And the call _was_ bad.

Then there’s the parents. Have you ever met someone who is being blatantly obvious while trying to be discreet about how bad you’re doing at something? If not, Jaha will gladly fulfill that role. The stereotypical mom who picks a fight with an opposing parent _every_ game? That’s Cece. Then there’s the team dad. That happens to be Sinclair. Everyone loves Sinclair. And finally, there’s Abby’s brother, who doesn’t stop worrying about her or the kids- Jackson. Forget a shin guard? Jackson has a spare. Need sunscreen? Jackson has you covered.

But nothing, not even all the losses through the years, riles her up more the coach she happens to be losing to right now.

She can stand losing (not really), but _not_ to him. Mr. Too-Much-Hair-Gel and perfectly shaven face. Not a single piece of hair was out of place, it never was. His posture was perfect, he stood tall and firm on his side of his bench.

Coach Kane.

The name riles her up, whether she hears it in a coach meeting or by seeing it on their schedule. The man knows how to wind her up with the right words. He knows how to push her buttons. He knows he has the upper hand, so he brags about it.

It’s not that big of an upper hand. Coach Kane and the Assassins haven’t been doing that well either. The only win they ever get each year is against the Lifesavers. To Coach Kane, that’s enough to declare his team more victorious than hers even though they’re both at the bottom of the standings.

His kids are basically the same as hers. Octavia is like Raven, wrecks nonstop havoc across the field. Miller has the “I don’t care” attitude every day and stands in the same spot on the field the whole game. Harper is more concerned with wanting to chat up Monty, who is the shyest player in Arkadia. Bellamy seems to be the only player who actually wants to play the game.

The same goes with the parents. David Miller is basically their team dad, always being prepared with snacks for after the game and helping Coach Kane out. Cece has a kid on both Coach Griffin and Coach Kane’s teams, being trouble for each coach. Except when they verse each other, she meets her match of Roan. The two have to sit the full field length away from each other so neither jumps the other.

But Coach Kane must being doing something right if he beats Coach Griffin every time they verse each other. It bugs her, and he knows it.

Coach Griffin watches as Bellamy slots another goal past Wells. She looks down to her clipboard with names and arrows drawn all across it. She can’t make sense of any of it. _Perfect_.

She doesn’t have to look up to know _he’s_ watching her. She knows he’s wearing that arrogant smirk. She knows this will be another win for the Assassins and another loss for the Lifesavers.

She decides to look up anyway and they make eye contact. The smirk immediately adorns his lips and it takes all her strength to not chuck the clipboard across the field at him. It’s 0-3 now.

She can feel the worry approaching her before she hears Jackson ask, “Everything okay, Coach?”

“ _Yes_ , Jackson,” she responds, flopping on the bench, “Thank you.”

Screw the lemonade. Coach Griffin needed a shot. Maybe five. It’s gonna be a long season.


	2. I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, kabby gets the worst news ever,,,,,

Coach Griffin hadn’t taken that shot yet. She really should’ve, considering the meeting she was going to have to sit through. It was just her, Coach Kane, and the president of Arakadia’s soccer leagues.

It wasn’t even noon yet and she was already annoyed. He wasn’t even here yet and somehow he managed to spoil her morning.

She couldn’t figure out what the emergency meeting could be about. Abby thought she had handled their loss pretty well. Well, as best as a coach could handle a 0-7 loss. She didn’t hit him with her clipboard this time and she thinks that’s progress.

She was pretty civil through the handshake, even when it was her turn to shake his hand. If it was anything about her choice of words she whispered to him, _he_ started it. It was that arrogant smile and she decided she was going to beat him to the shit talking this time.

Okay, so _maybe_ she could’ve handled it better, but this time he didn’t brag to her right after like he always had. Like she said, progress.

The sound of familiar boots hitting the floor broke her away from her wandering thoughts. Just the way he walked was enough to drive her up the wall. His strides were full of confidence up until the point when he stopped right in front of her.

She could feel his gaze on her head but she kept her eyes averted to her phone, where she was writing a work email. She could see his boots, dirty with mud might she add, over the top of her phone screen. He didn’t move as she continued to ignore him. It irritated her and she knew that’s why he was doing it.

“Kane,” she finally said, in hopes that acknowledging him would make him move.

“Griffin,” was his response, but his feet didn’t move.

Silence fell between them as Abby was finishing the last sentence of her email. He didn’t budge and her hand tightened around her phone in annoyance. She could _feel_ his smirk forming as he saw the annoyance grow in her.

There was a teasing tone in his voice as he asked, “Is everything alright, Doctor?”

He never called her coach. It was either, Abby, Griffin, or Doctor. He never acknowledged her as a coach, which the reason she heard him give Roan was that coaches win games. He went home soaking wet with an empty water jug after that game. It was well worth the red card.

“Of course,” she responded, shrugging her shoulders, “Why do you ask?”

His feet shifted slightly as he moved closer and tugged at her t-shirt. “Because your shirt is inside out.”

She immediately looked up from her email after hitting send and met his gaze. Of course, that _fucking_ smile was intact and he flickered his eyes to her shirt. She looked down to see, in fact, that her shirt was inside out.

“Damn it,” she whispered to herself. She was up late last night with emailing the same doctor she was talking to right now all night long. There was an emergency with a long time patient of hers and she had to rush there after the game. She got to bed late last night and was currently running on four hours of sleep.

“I’ll be right back,” she announced as she gathered her purse and walked off to the bathroom. She quickly switched her shirt to the right way and checked her makeup and hair. Everything else seemed intact and fine. Sighing, frustrated and embarrassed that _he_ of all people pointed it out, she made her way back to the office she was sitting outside of.

When she came closer, she came to see that he had taken the chair she was sitting in when there were two others to choose from. They made eye contact as she got closer and he smirked again, winking this time.

She opened her mouth to make a smart remark when the office door opened. Pike, the president of the league, stuck his head out. He looked back and forth between the two, commenting, “I heard your talking cease so I was afraid one of you had knocked the other out. Glad to see you both awake and still breathing.”

Abby crossed her arms as she looked over to Marcus, who looked back to her. “Not for the lack of trying I assure you,” she told Pike.

Pike sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t doubt it.”

Marcus slowly smirked as he watched her, stroking his too perfectly shaven chin. Again, his hair was slicked back with gel, not a single hair out of place. Abby wondered how long it took for him to get ready in the morning. She feared it may be longer than what she takes.

Pike nodded towards his office, “Come in, it won’t be long.”

Abby followed right after him, Marcus close behind. Pike closed the door behind them both as they sat in the chairs across from Pike’s desk. As Pike made his way over to his desk, Abby said, “If this has to do with anything I said to him after the game…”

Pike sat down, confusion written across his face. Abby immediately backtracked, “Never mind, it was nothing.”

“Oh, it was something alright,” Marcus piped in from beside her.

Abby immediately looked to him as did Pike. Marcus looked over to her, an innocent smile on his face now. “What was it you said?” He questioned, pretending to be in thought. “Was it along the lines that I should shove my gel bottle-”

“ANYWAYS,” Abby interrupted with a big grin, flashing Marcus a dangerous look that promised she would do exactly what she told him to do yesterday if he didn’t stop talking.

His smirk returned as he watched her for a few short seconds. He looked to Pike finally, shaking his head with a frown, “I can’t remember. Must’ve not been important.”

 Pike was watching Marcus, more confused now. He shook his head, rubbed his temples, mumbling, “You two are such a handful.” Marcus opened his mouth to respond but Pike held a finger up to him. “Whatever you’re going to say, don’t.”

Marcus shut his mouth and smiled innocently. Pike shook his head again, speaking to himself more than them, “Lord knows how you two will work together.”

The sentence caught both of their attention and they looked at each for a few seconds, confusion apparent to each other. They both looked to Pike, but Abby was the one who spoke up, “What do you mean work together?”

Pike looked up to meet her gaze and then to Marcus. He opened a folder he had on his desk. On one side was both of their team rosters. On the other was a list of all the teams in their league. Except, with a closer look, both noticed one team was missing from the list.

Pike told them, “That’s why you’re here. There’s been some changes in the league and it’s going to affect your teams.” Abby and Marcus looked to each other before looking back to Pike. He continued, “Indra had to fold her team with a new promotion she got at work and with half of her team moving on to other teams or leagues.”

“That makes only nine teams in the league,” Marcus pointed out.

Pike nodded in agreement, “Exactly. It makes an uneven number for when playoffs come around. Now, we could give the top team a by the first round, but then you’re shorting them out of a game they pay to play.”

“So we need to either take away another team or add another in?” Marcus asked, dread creeping into him, knowing where the conversation was going.

Pike nodded, “Precisely.”

“And we’re the two worst teams in the league,” Marcus pointed out. “You’re going to get rid of one of our teams.”

Abby immediately looked over to Marcus when the words left his mouth. She heard dread in his tone, but couldn’t figure out why. His team wasn’t the worst, he had no chance of his team being shut down. _Her_ team was the worst, meaning her team would be shut down.

“You’re going to get rid of my team because we’re the worst?” Abby accused, anger rising in her. Yeah, the Lifesavers sucked; but, they were _kids_ who just wanted to play soccer. Well, some of them. Even if they didn’t, Abby knew they enjoyed the time together. It would be wrong to take that away from them.

Pike tried to explain, “Now, I didn’t say that-”

“Oh,” Marcus jumped in, “so you’re going to get rid of _my_ team? At least we win a game.”

Abby turned to face him, her anger rising even higher. “Is that your argument? That you win one game? Against the worst team in the league?”

Marcus turned to look at her. “A win is a win.”

She crossed her arms, tilting her head. “And that win will be taken away if my team is booted.”

He tilted his head back in response, narrowing his eyes. “And what will the league lose if your team is booted? A coach who makes a spectacle of herself in front of the kids every game?” He shrugged, “Seems like a loss I’m willing to take.”

Abby gripped the side arms of the chair she was sitting in. Yes, she can get out of hand sometimes. Yes, she sometimes says things she shouldn’t in front of the kids. _Yes_ , she regrets it. But that doesn’t mean her team should suffer for her mistakes.

“And what about those kids, Marcus?” She challenges. “Sure, they probably deserve a better coach but they’re not here for championships or for hopes in going to play nationally. They’re here to play and have fun. I can assure my team does that, but how about your team?”

“Of course they have fun,” he snaps back too quickly. He notices it, Abby notices it, and Pike notices it. He sits back in his chair a bit more, cursing himself for letting her get under his skin. He calms down a bit before saying, “They do.”

She raises an eyebrow at him and it sends another wave of irritation through him. Winning _is_ fun. Sure, they only win the one game but he sees the happiness on their faces when they do win that one game. That’s what drives him to make the team better so they can win more games and be _happy_.

“That’s enough,” Pike’s voice breaks through their argument. He’s rubbing his temples again, shaking his head. He looks up to them both, saying, “I didn’t bring you here to argue or to get rid of one of your teams.”

Their anger against each other turned to confusion. Marcus states the obvious, “But the number situation…”

“Yes, I know,” Pike says, “that’s why we’re getting rid of both of your teams.”

Silence fell between the two. They’re both confused and both can feel their hearts breaking. Again, Marcus states the obvious, “But you’d still have odd numbers.”

Pike nods and said, “And that’s why we’re adding a new team.”

Marcus tilts his head to the side, asking, “Then why are you getting rid of our teams if you’re adding a new team?”

Pike fiddled his fingers together as he pressed his lips together, flickering his eyes between the two of them. It immediately clicked in both of their minds and Abby immediately spoke up, “No, no, no, no- no way in _hell_ am I working with him.”

Marcus rightfully ignored that and looked back to Pike asking, “Are you serious?”

Pike nodded and handed them each a copy of the sheet that contained both rosters for their teams. Pike had his own as well and told them, “As you can see, without some of your previous players coming back, both of your teams are down to five players each. That’s not enough to compete at the 8v8 level separately.”

The two looked at each other and then back to Pike who continued, “Merging your two teams fixes the odd number of teams and makes it possible that your kids can still play. Now, the coaching decision is up to you. You both can coach it together or one of you can. However you settle it is up to you, I just have to know by your first game.”

“I’m not giving up my spot as coach,” Abby said in response, looking over to Marcus.

He looked to her saying, “Me either.”

They had a silent stare down as Pike watched. When neither argued for a few seconds, Pike clapped and both of their attention was drawn back to him. He said, “Then it’s settled. Both of you will coach.” Abby opened her mouth to argue but Pike shook his head. “It’s. Settled.”

She sat back, sighing. She could deal with Marcus the one time she would see him every weekend. Now she would have to see him three times a week, maybe four depending on the weekend. That’s exactly what she needed in her life, more stress.

Pike looked between them and shook his head, commenting, “Sometimes you guys make it hard to remember who the kids are and who the adults are.”

Marcus shrugged, unbothered. He flicked his eyes to Abby commenting, “I commonly forget with her too.”

Abby swatted him on the arm with her piece of paper rolled up. He sent her a glare and she sent one back. Pike sighed again and told them, “That’s the meeting. You guys can handle the rest. Ordering uniforms, a team banner, and other things are the same for when you first joined. The only new thing is coming up with a team name.”

The two looked at each other, a fight already brewing in their minds. Marcus looked to Pike asking, “When does that have to chosen?”

“Same as the coaches, by the first game.”

“When is the first game?”

Pike pulled out a make shift schedule and placed it on the desk. The two leaned over to get a closer look. Pike told them, “We went ahead and already made the new schedules for everyone. This is yours. First game is in a week.”

Marcus took the paper from him and looked at it along with Abby. Their eyes fell on the first game and the same feeling of “we’re screwed” fell upon them. They versed the best team in the league right off the bat; they versed Mount Weather.

“Fuck."


	3. You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kabby + lunch = ?????

The only reason Abby agreed to lunch with Marcus was because she was starving and needed an ice cold beer. Yeah, it was barely noon, but who cares. With the news she just received, she deserved a tequila shot, but she’ll settle for a beer from Applebee’s.

Hell, some mozzarella sticks sounded nice too.

They haven’t talked since they were seated in a booth. He was hiding from her behind his menu as was she. Abby could understand Pike’s statement about not being able to tell who the kids and adults were when it came to them.

She wasn’t even focused on the menu since she had already decided on the mozzarella sticks. She was focused on the fact that his hair was _still_ perfect. It was humid today, almost up in the 80’s (26° in Celsius) and somehow his hair hadn’t moved an inch. It irritated her. She wanted to reach over and run her hands through it and make a mess of it.

Ya know, for that reason _only_.

“Have you decided what you’d like to eat?” A cheery voice came from beside her. They both looked up from their menus as their waitress set their drinks down.

Marcus, being Marcus, went first saying, “I’ll just have the cheeseburger, no pickles please.”

She nodded and wrote it down as Abby took in the interesting fact. The waitress looked to her and Abby said, “I’ll have the mozzarella sticks, please.”

She nodded and wrote it down. She snapped her booklet closed and said in that cheery voice again, “It’ll be out shortly!”

The two nodded and told her thanks as she collected the menus and left. Now there were no barriers between the two. They had to face their situation sooner or later. It’d be better to get it over with now. Now, how to break the ice?

“So, you don’t like pickles?”

A+ opener Coach Griffin.

He was busy taking a sip of his water and looking out the window when she had asked. He looked over to her and set the glass down. “They’re disgusting,” he replied.

“You don’t like _any_ type of pickle? Dill? Sweet?”

He shook his head. “The whole concept of a pickle is off putting. Its sits in a jar of green juice until you want to eat it. _Then_ it’s all slippery when you eat it. Plus the crunch of the pickle is the worst part.”

Abby found the reasons weird, but each to their own. She shrugged, going to take a sip of her beer, “Interesting.”

He shrugged back and went back to looking out the window, ending the conversation. Well, that failed.

She sighed loudly enough for him to cast her a look out of the corner of his eyes. She held her hands up and said, “I tried starting a conversation with you so we could discuss our situation.”

He turned to face her, hand stroking his chin as he raised an eyebrow at her. He asked, “And your opener was asking me about my dislike for pickles?”

She shrugged, taking another drink of her beer. “It was an attempt.”

He chuckled slightly. “It failed.”

Her face dropped into a “no shit” expression as she waved a hand towards him. “You let the conversation die.”

He raised an eyebrow again in response. “Me?”

She nodded saying, “Um, yes? I brought something up and when it was finished being covered, you could’ve brought up the reason why we’re here.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Her face fell in her hand as she sighed. She knew she could’ve done it but she felt since she started the conversation he would pick up on the cue to continue it. Of course he has to be a smartass about it.

She rubbed her face as she dragged her hand down her face. If he wanted her to bring it up, fine, she would. “How the hell are we going to do this?”

He smirked a bit, feeling like he had won the little battle. He can have this one, she thought, because she’ll win whatever little war they have going on.

He pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket that Pike had given them. It was their schedule for the year. They played each team once and then at the end of the season based on their standings, playoff games would be determined. Right off the bat they had to verse the Wallace’s team, Mount Weather.

If Abby and Marcus agreed on anything, it was that they both hated the Wallaces more than they hated each other.

No one liked the Wallaces. It was nothing against their kids, besides the fact the one kid, Emerson, was a bully on the field. The other kids were fine but the level they played at was way above any team in the league. It was always guaranteed they’d win every year.

Abby can’t remember the last time she lost to them that didn’t result with them in the double digits goal range. Every red card she received against them was well worth it. Cage Wallace never knew how to shut his mouth about winning, being more annoying than Marcus. Dante, Cage’s father, did nothing to stop his son. Hell, he even smirks when he sees how riled up Abby gets.

“Can you believe Pike threw this news on us a week in advance _and_ our first game is against Mount Weather?” Marcus shook his head, disgust lacing his voice.

Abby flickered her eyes to him. “You know how close he is with the Wallace boys. Wouldn’t surprise me if Cage bribed him into doing it. That bastard.”

Marcus chuckled at her and Abby smirked a bit. Maybe they could combine their hatred for the Wallace boys and make a great duo and defeat them once and for all. She was sure if fate was a person, they’d be laughing their ass off at that thought.

Marcus shrugged and said, “We’ll deal with it. Our practices were the same time and day, so we’ll just announce it to the parents and kids tomorrow.”

“Then we practice,” Abby finished.

He looked to her and repeated her, “Then we practice.”

Abby sat back in the booth, watching the sweat on her beer bottle run down the sides. She wiped at one droplet and said, “I don’t know what Pike was thinking when he thought it would be a good idea to combine our teams.”

Marcus actually laughed at that as he took another drink of his water. He chuckled after he swallowed it, agreeing with her, “No idea. It’ll be bad enough with us coaching together, imagine Cece and Roan having to be on the same side.”

“Chaos,” Abby said, shaking her head. That would end in disaster.

Marcus shrugged, looking out the window again. “We’ll just have to try and not hate each other for the kids.”

“Easier said than done,” Abby muttered to herself more than him. He still caught it, eyes flickering to her slightly before he went back to looking out the window.

He commented, “Just like me do the coaching and we’ll be fine.”

And there it was. They were being civil, hell, she was enjoying the little jokes about their impending doom. But, _of course_ , Marcus had to be Marcus and ruin it. Irritation and anger began to boil in her. “We’ll both be coaching.”

He turned to face her, curiosity lining his features. “Who has actually won a game before?”

He knew that struck a nerve, the little smirk that formed after he asked that was proof enough. Her grip on her beer tightened as she watched him. She snapped back, “And who was the win against? Oh, that’s right, a team that doesn’t exist anymore.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly at her. Before he could say his bullshit about how “a win is a win”, she told him, tipping her beer to her lips, “Looks like we’re finally on even ground.”

She downed a big gulp of her drink before slightly slamming the bottle onto the table. She made eye contact with him and she could see the irritation burning in his eyes. He always had the upper hand before but now it was gone. Of course Abby was going to use that to her advantage.

Silence fell between them after that until the waitress came back with their food. She was the only cheery one in the group as she placed their orders in front of them. Once they each had their meals, she patted her booklet, saying, “Now, is there any special occasion going on today? Anniversary?”

Marcus choked on his fry and Abby choked on her beer. Both ended up coughing and sputtering out words. The waitress looked confused as both tried to recover from the abrupt assumption.

Marcus shook his head as he pointed between the two of them. “Oh no, no… we’re not…” He shook his hand in the air, “ _Never_.”

Abby felt her pride crush a little and she gave him a look. She didn’t care that much because she as well would never think of dating this man, let alone marrying him. She coughed once more, clearing her throat. She strained a smile to the waitress, telling her, “We’re business partners.”

“If you could even call it that,” she heard Marcus mumble in between coughs. She sent him another glare before looking back to the waitress.

The waitress seemed embarrassed and tried to apologize but Abby waved her off. “It’s fine,” she told her, “he wouldn’t be lucky enough to get someone like me anyways.” She added a wink at the end and the waitress chuckled a bit.

Marcus instantly whipped his head to her, a challenge raising in his posture. She raised an eyebrow back at him, daring him to say something. They had a stare down for a few before the waitress told them, “Enjoy your dinner, I’ll be back to check up on you later.”

With those words, she left them alone. Abby gladly went back to her food, _god_ it smelt like heaven. She was busy stuffing one into her mouth as Marcus watched her and mocked, “I’d be lucky to have someone like you?”

She nodded and winked at him, picking her beer up. She had an ice cold beer, delicious mozzarella sticks, and gotten under Marcus’ skin. He hadn’t responded to her remark, just watched her with distaste. Sounded like a win to her.

She smiled at him. She told him after swallowing, “Is something wrong with your burger? Are there pickles on it?”

That smirk returned and he said, “Did you sneak a note to the waitress that said to put pickles on it?”

It was her turn to smirk and she shrugged, biting into another mozzarella stick. She said after chewing, “Take a bite and find out.”

He kept her gaze for a few second before chuckling slightly. He shook his head while looking down to his burger. He sighed loudly and picked his burger up, mumbling to himself, “It’s gonna be a long season.”

Abby smirked as she watched him sink his teeth into his burger slowly. He chewed slowly and when he noticed there were no pickles, he looked to her. She immediately smiled and winked, finishing off her beer. He rolled his eyes and wiped his mouth on his napkin.

Oh yeah, it’s gonna be a long season.


	4. If there is no struggle, there is no progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the chapter in which kabby makes "shit show" a synonym for "practice"

Marcus wasn’t lying. It’s gonna be a long season.

When they had announced the merge to the team, immediately Cece and Roan complained. Jaha had said something along the lines of, “we’re more screwed than we were before, and we were in the last!” When they had dispersed for practice, Jackson pulled her to the side to ask her, “You okay?”

The only two who didn’t seem to have a problem with it was David Miller and Sinclair. Abby thinks she actually heard them discussing which snacks to bring after their first game. Abby had half a mind to tell them to bring her scotch. She was going to need a bottle on the sideline the way things were going.

The kids didn’t seem to care much. Only Bellamy, Clarke, and Wells seemed to take any interest in the news. Probably because they were the only ones who actually _cared_ that much.

And Abby knew her and Marcus were going to clash at some point with their coaching style. She didn’t think it would happen with the first drill she tried to run, but boy was she wrong. She should’ve known, it _was_ Marcus she was dealing with after all.

For the Lifesavers, every practice started with sharks and minnows, a simple drill to get the kids’ legs moving and get them interested in practice. When she brought up the idea to Marcus he instantly shut it down.

“A game?”

“For _warm up_ , Marcus,” she snapped back, not missing the distasteful edge in his voice. He made it seem like it was a kid’s game, which _it was_ because they were _kids_. She crossed her arms, being defiant. “We can do more serious things after warm up.”

“Everything should be serious,” he immediately replied. He shook his head, “That way you can improve and _win_ games.”

Abby didn’t even bother pointing out that if that had been his plan every year, it sucked. His only win was against her and it wasn’t that hard to win against her. _Not_ that she would ever admit that to anyone or stand for it if anyone told her that.

“Fine,” she said, throwing her hands up in defeat. “What would you like to do for warm up, Marcus?”

“That sounds sarcastic,” he commented, watching her carefully.

She wanted to say, “No shit,” but all the kids were starting to come over to them. Instead, she smiled at him and said, “I have no idea what you mean.”

He watched her for a few more seconds before he grabbed one of his bags. He started to pull out blue like clothing and told her, “We always do possession for warm up. A good way to get their mind focused right away.”

Abby quickly grabbed one of the blue things and held it up, tilting her head to get a better look at it. “What the hell is this?”

Marcus finished getting them out of his bag and he looked up. He seemed confused by her question, stating like it was obvious, “It’s a penny.”

“ _This_ is a _penny_?” It certainly didn’t look like one. “Where did you get it? The dollar store?”

He looked offended and ripped it out of her hands. She looked to him, the dumbfounded look still on her face. “Hilarious,” was all he replied with.

“I’m serious!” She said, a little laugh mixed in. He gave her a pointed look and she held her hands up in defense. “Those seriously can’t be the only ones you have.”

He didn’t respond but opened the same bag he had just pulled the blue “pennies” from. He pulled out red, green, and yellow ones too. Abby wanted to laugh, _really_ wanted to laugh. “Well,” she piped up, “at least you’re consistent.”

He rolled his eyes and began handing the blue pennies to five of the kids. He announced what they were doing to the kids, “We’re going to start off with a game of possession. The team who doesn’t have the ball after five minutes will have a punishment to do.”

Clarke looked to her mom, asking, “No sharks and minnows?”

Abby shook her head and said, “We’re going to switch it up today, okay? We’ll play it later, though, promise.”

Clarke smiled and nodded and walked off to the grid where they would be playing. Abby took in a mental note how Clarke was basically swimming in her “penny”. She also took a mental note to never let Marcus handle equipment again.

Marcus passed the ball into the grid and started his stop watch. Abby watched him as he watched the drill. He had his arms crossed his chest, eyes scanning the tiny grid.

Abby crossed her arms as well, asking him, “So, what will the punishment be if they lose? Five ‘I’m a star!’ jumps?”

He looked to her, his face portraying the phrase, “Are you serious?”

She nudged her head towards him, asking, “Well?”

He shook his head and told her, “They’ll be running.”

She looked to him in a bit of shock. “Running?” He nodded. “It’s a _warm up_ drill, Marcus.”

“And they’ll learn to never to lose in any part of the game,” he responded, his eyes on the grid once again. “Move after you pass, Clarke. You’ll open up space for Octavia.”

Abby gave him a hard look for lecturing Clarke but when she watched the scene unfold, the anger in her boiled down a tiny fraction. Octavia did have more space to move into to find Jasper, who was open for a pass. Okay, _maybe_ Marcus could coach a little. Still, he didn’t have to suck the fun out of everything to be a good coach.

“What part of this is supposed to be fun?” She asked.

He looked over to her now. He examined her for a bit and said sarcastically, “Wearing the pennies.”

She chuckled a bit. She examined him as well, noting that _again_ his hair was gelled back perfectly. It was another humid day and she was surprised the gel didn’t melt off his hair. She wasn’t sure which bugged her more: his hair or the pennies.

She looked at the poor excuse of a penny Clarke was wearing and then back to his hair. She shrugged, telling him, “Well, maybe if you didn’t spend all your money on hair gel, maybe the kids could have real pennies.”

That smirk formed on his lips again, his hand moving up to scratch at his jaw. He looked over to her, mocking her, “Won’t that get rid of the fun?”

She had to give him that one, she walked into it. Didn’t mean she didn’t have a line to shoot back. She shrugged, telling him, “I don’t know. Maybe if you let your hair breathe, you won’t be so uptight.”

He looked over to her, the smirk growing the tiniest bit. She also noticed his face was perfectly shaven too, no sign of stubble, five o’clock shadow, or cuts from his razor blade. She reached up and patted his left cheek. “Loosen up the tight schedule on your shaving too. The world won’t end if you forget to shave one morning. Might take away some stress.”

Plus, she liked stubble on a man.

+

“Coach, it doesn’t look you’re in total control of this situation.”

“ _I know_ , Jaha,” Abby responded, voice dripping with sarcasm. It wasn’t like Abby couldn’t tell that for herself.

Marcus had completely taken over practice, not letting her have a word. Right now, she was sitting on the bench, sneaking a shot from Cece’s flask. If she didn’t have to drive and try to coach these kids, she would down the thing in a few seconds.

Abby tried getting the kids to play shark and minnows after a _way_ too serious shooting drill. Poor Wells was being pelted with shots. The boy got hit in the face more than once and when Abby tried to check him out, Marcus told her to wait till the round was over. He had told her, “It builds strength.”

Abby told him it builds concussions. He ignored her.

So in response, when the kids were taken their first water break of the practice, Abby started setting up the grid for sharks and minnows. Marcus was picking up his cones when he noticed and immediately came over. He demanded to know what drill she was setting up.

So, she told him. You could say his unhappy with her response. His exact response was, “You are not dumbing down the tone I’ve set for this practice.”

You can say Abby was also unhappy with his response. So she ignored him back and kept setting the cones up. He picked up every one she laid down. When she noticed she chucked the cones at him, making a mess.

They glared at each other before Abby finally stormed off to where she was now. This situation wasn’t any better, Jaha _again_ \- like usual- was telling her what a horrible job she was doing. He always seemed to be paying attention when things were going wrong. He never noticed the good things.

Currently, Marcus had the kids doing a 1v1 drill. There were three boxes lined up. In each box, Raven, Murphy, and Miller stood in their own in that order. The other seven kids had to try and beat all three. First, they had to stay in the boundaries and get past Raven. If they succeed, they tried to get past Murphy. If they succeed, then they tried to get past Miller. If they got through all three boxes without getting knocked out, then they’d get a point.

It was Clarke’s turn and she watched as Raven immediately stuck her foot out, diving in. Clarke easily dribbled by her and into Murphy’s square. Murphy ran up, making his presence immediately known. He had too much momentum going forward however and Clarke easily spun around him. She entered the last square where Miller just stood there, watching her.

Clarke carefully approached him but Miller didn’t budge. He looked upset and angry. He wasn’t even watching her anymore, he was busy glaring at where Murhpy and Raven were paying attention to the next player, Octavia.

Clarke easily dribbled by him, Miller not trying to stop her at all. Marcus immediately stopped the drill, walking up to Miller. He asked him, “Why didn’t you tackle, Clarke? You let her dribble right by!”

He looked to Marcus unphased by the anger in his tone. He looked to where Murphy and Raven were watching him. He said, “Maybe they shouldn’t have let her pass them either.”

Both Murphy and Raven immediately looked offended and Marcus looked to them and then back to Miller. He told him, “The difference between Clarke passing them and Clarke passing you was that they put effort into it. You didn’t move.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, staring up back to Marcus. “The difference was they sucked.”

“Talk for yourself, Miller,” Raven spat at him.

Miller looked around Marcus, rising an eyebrow at her. “Me?” He asked, “I’m pretty sure I didn’t dive in. I remember that clearly every time we versed you. Made it easy for Bellamy to beat you.”

Raven crossed her arms this time, tilting her head. “And like it wasn’t easy for Clarke to beat you every time? You never move.”

He shrugged, telling her, “At least I don’t fail every time I try.”

“Alright, _that’s it_ ,” Raven mumbled and started to walk over, face showing her anger. Murphy had to hold her back while Marcus looked back to Miller.

He pointed at the end of the field and told him, “You have three full field suicides.”

Miller looked aghast and repeated him, “ _Three?”_

Marcus nodded and turned around, leaving no room for argument. He told Miller while walking back to the beginning of the grid, “If you haven’t started by the time I tell Octavia to start, you have three more.”

Abby doesn’t think she’s ever seen Miller move so fast. Raven wasn’t exaggerating when she said Miller never moves. She’s pretty she he holds a grudge for whoever lost the ball and never helps his teammates out when they come at him. She isn’t sure what causes it but he does a damn good job at it.

Marcus had reached the beginning of the grid, where the kids were lined up. He looked at the grid and said, “Let’s switch you guys out. Let’s see…Harper, Wells, and Clarke- you guys go in the grid.”

That got Abby’s attention again. Clarke going into a defensive position? That was absurd, Clarke only played forward. Jaha commented the same, “Clarke is going to play defense? Let’s hope she’s better at that than she is at forward.”

It took everything Abby had to not punch Jaha right then and there. Wouldn’t have been the first time she’s done it. With the look Jackson was giving her, he was already mentally preparing the med kit he would have to pull out if she did hit him.

She ignored Jaha even though she _really_ wanted to reply to him. He seemed to be oblivious to the fact that everyone heard him. Or, he didn’t give a shit.

Looking back to the drill, Harper was in the first box, then Clarke, and Wells in the last. Abby had a bad feeling in her gut about this as Marcus told Octavia to go. She slowly dribbled into the box, looking very uncertain what to do. Harper easily won the ball and knocked it out of the grid.

Next up was Bellamy who easily flew past Harper. It was like a battle of the two best players on each team when Bellamy entered Clarke’s box. Clarke took her defensive position as Bellamy charged forward.

The two immediately clashed, Clarke swinging her leg into for a tackle. The ball got stuck in between them as they fought for one to be victorious. Bellamy soon pulled the ball back and tried to use his body to brush by, but Clarke held firm, keeping him in front of her.

The two spurred for a good minute before Bellamy finally forced himself over the line, entering Wells’ box, who he easily nutmegged and ran past to catch up to the ball.

Abby looked back to her daughter to see her annoyed and upset. See, Abby knew Clarke wouldn’t like it. She knew her daughter enjoyed being up top and in charge.

Abby looked over to where Marcus stood, smirking in her direction. His eyes flickered to Bellamy and then back to her. Oh, so that’s how he wanted to play it.

Just because Bellamy got by Clarke once did _not_ mean his team was superior. Sure, the standings clearly stated that, but it was Clarke’s first time ever trying defense out. Bellamy wouldn’t get past her next time.

Next up was Monty, who was the shyest player of Arkadia. He slowly dribbled into the box, looking up to Harper. She immediately smiled at him, telling him, “You can do it, Monty!”

Monty didn’t seem to think Monty could. He looked back to his brother, Jasper, for confirmation. Jasper grinned big, nodding his head. Monty looked back to Harper and went forward.

It was very evident that Harper let Monty pass. Everyone could see it. Marcus immediately stopped the drill and walked up to the duo. Harper looked guilty before Marcus even spoke. He asked, “Why did you let him pass?”

She looked down to her cleats and said, “Because I wanted him to believe he could do it…”

He crouched down to meet her eye level, waiting till she looked at him to reply. “We’ve been over this before Harper,” he pointed at Monty, “he won’t get better unless you push him to do his best. Giving him the easiest way out won’t help him in the end.”

All she did was nod in response. He stood up, saying, “Perfect. Monty, start over. And Harper,” she looked to Marcus, who pointed to the poor boy who was currently dying while running his suicides, “if you don’t give 100%, then you’ll be joining him for your own set of three.”

It was easy to conclude that Monty didn’t advance to Clarke’s box. Jasper gave him a supportive pat on the back as he walked by to go to the back of the line. Jasper looked to where Harper stood and told her, “See you on the other side.”

He went before Marcus told him to go and before Harper could get ready. In a panic, she stuck her foot out and caught the ball at the right time. It stopped from her foot and Jasper tripped over it, falling to the ground.

“ ** _HEY! KEEP IT CLEAN!_** ”

The scream caught everyone off guard. Heads whipped around to find Cece suddenly standing, her lawn chair thrown a few feet behind her. Saying she was pissed was an understatement.

“Keep what clean?” _Oh no_. “That _was_ a clean tackle.” _Dear God, **no**_.

Cece’s head and everyone else’s turned to see Roan, chilling on the picnic table. He seemed unbothered by the tackle but agitated by her.

She put her hands on her hips. “Clean? She tripped him!”

“She got the ball.”

“No, she didn’t.”

It was the first practice. They had many more weeks to go.

“Yes, she _did._ ”

“ _No,_ she _didn’t_.”

Many practices, games, and team activities where she’d have to be with these people in the same place.

“What the hell were you watching, Cece? It’s soccer, your kid is going to fall once in a while.” Roan was now leaning forward with his elbows on his knees as he watched her.

“Which is fine,” she said as she was stepping closer to him. Sinclair was trying his best to keep her back, David Miller doing the same to Roan. “ _But_ ,” she continued, “only when it’s a clean tackle.”

Abby wasn’t sure how she was going to survive.

“Maybe you should stop worrying about my daughter’s ‘dirty tackles’ and maybe focus on your kid,” Roan shot back.

“Maybe you shouldn’t teach your daughter those ‘dirty’ moves,” Cece fired back.

Abby tipped the flask back up to her lips but nothing came out. She looked down into the dark opening. It represented their future: bleak.

She saw Jackson coming over to her with a water bottle. She needed something a lot stronger but she would take what she could get. He asked the question she’s heard every day since she became the coach of the Lifesavers, “You okay?”

Abby looked to where Cece and Roan were now in a full blown out argument again. David Miller and Sinclair were unfortunately stuck in the middle, just like always. Jaha was mumbling under his breath on how they were screwed. Jackson was over worrying (rightfully so) again.

And then there was Marcus. He had lost control of the kids. Harper had run over to Monty, trying to apologize for earlier, accompanied by Jasper. Octavia and Raven were pulling Miller’s penny over his head so he couldn’t see. Murphy sat by his brother, Wells, covering his cleats with grass he was pulling from the ground. Finally, Wells, Bellamy, and Clarke were watching the chaos all go down.

Marcus was frantically chasing the duo who was messing with Miller. He was yelling at Murphy to stop ruining the field and asking for the trio’s help. He was also trying to see of Jasper was okay but none of them would listen to him for he had done to Monty and Harper. He finally stopped chasing them and stood in the middle of the chaos.

They made eye contact in the midst of it. He looked lost and defeated. She shrugged, tipped the water bottle to him and winked. It was hilarious if you had a twisted sense of humor.

Two terrible teams, always have been destined to fail, now combined and destined to fail together. Ironic really, considering in the movies and novels where this happens, the two teams somehow manage to overcome their differences and become successful.

The Lifesavers and the Assassins though? That was a disaster waiting to happen.

Was Abby okay? Sure she was.

Abby had never experienced winning, she had always been at the bottom. She had always lost and yeah, it sucked, but now she has nothing to lose. She can’t lose to Marcus anymore, the only thing she ever cared about when she learned her team was hopeless.

Would beating Mount Weather be amazing? Hell yeah. Would getting Cage to finally shut up and stop his bragging be worth it? Definitely.

But let’s be realistic. This is real life, not some novel or movie. That isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

But you know what _can_ happen? Marcus can experience everything she has. He can experience what it’s like to lose every game and _never_ win a game. He can experience the brunt of embarrassment she faces each year at the league parties. He can _lose_.

And Abby would be damned if she wasn’t okay with that.


	5. Stop letting other people define you, be yourself and be proud of it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a little side note of dedication: I'm dedicating this chapter to my g'ma, who supported me with everything, including my writing. May we meet again some day :)
> 
> now,,,,, WE FINALLY HAVE A TEAM NAME!!!

“Do you not like pizza either? Does it have to do with something with the food starting with the letter ‘p’?” Abby teased as she took a seat beside Marcus.

He looked from the kids to her and then to the slice of pizza he had neglected to eat yet. He joked back, “The thing has enough grease to resemble a pickle.”

After yesterday’s practice, aka a shit show, Abby and Marcus decided to hold off the beginning of the season team party till today. It was just a small get together for the kids and for the parents to hang out. They had ordered in pizzas with pop for the kids and beers for the adults. The small party was being held at Marcus’ house. Currently, the kids were all playing around the backyard while the parents sat on the patio and chatted.

Marcus finished off his beer, setting it to the side. He hadn’t been talking to anyone when Abby walked over. She had been sitting by Cece and Jaha, who were talking about the latest news on TV about a bear somehow finding its way into someone’s backyard. She had noticed he was sitting all alone, seeming to be _too_ relaxed. Of course, Abby had to ruin it.

So here she was. Marcus was a little annoyed and you could see it on his face. He was glad to not to talk to anyone and just observe the scene. Now, he would have to talk to _her_ out of everyone here.

Abby sank back in her chair as she watched the kids. Bellamy was dribbling a soccer ball around and nutmegging the others. Octavia was watching in awe. He tried to nutmeg Clarke but Clarke easily stopped the ball. The unexpected stop made Bellamy trip and fall forward. Octavia burst into laughter.

Abby even heard Jasper mock his mother, “Hey! Keep it clean!” The kids burst into laughter. Abby was happy they were having fun.

Now, back to her having fun.

When she looked over to Marcus, she noticed something right away. His hair wasn’t gelled back for once. It was let loose and laid naturally to frame his face. There was one piece that landed on his forward that curled a bit. It looked good.

Not that she would ever admit that to him.

“Why the sudden change in hair styles?” She asked as she took a drink of her own beer.

He looked from the kids to her, an eyebrow raised. “Are you complaining?” He asked. “I can always go back to the gel.”

She held a hand up, waving it in the air in a shooing manner. “No, no, I’m not complaining,” she replied. “I was just wondering.”

“So you like it?” He teased, a tiny smirk forming.

Abby retraced her words, mentally smacking herself. “Those words never came out of my mouth.”

“You’re not denying it.”

She decided to stay silent, taking a long drink of her beer. She came over to rile him up but somehow he was riling her up. He added after the small silence, “I ran out of gel yesterday. I haven’t been able to go to the store.”

She nodded a bit in understanding. She was surprised he didn’t have a backup bottle for when he ran out. Then a backup bottle for that backup bottle. It seemed like a Marcus thing to do.

He scratched at his chin and her eyes were drawn to it. She noticed he still shaved in the last 24 hours she had seen him, not a single sign of stubble on his face. “I see you’re still keeping a strict schedule on your shaving,” she told him. He looked to her, raising that eyebrow again in response. “You keep a tight grip on practices, your hair and shaving, what else?”

He smirked, the hand that scratched his chin now holding his head up as he placed his elbow on the table. The way he was watching her made her regret her words already. “You pay close attention. Are you obsessed with me or something, Abby?”

Yup, she instantly regretted her words. “You wish,” she muttered more to herself as she finished her beer off. She needed another if she was going to make it through the night. She already had one but she needed a slight buzz if she was going to tolerate Marcus.

She nodded at his empty beer bottle. “Want another?”

He examined her for a few seconds before nodding, “I’m guessing I’m gonna need it.”

That made two of them.

“I’ll be right back,” she announced as she stood up, taking both of their bottles. She felt his eyes watching her all the way until she disappeared into the house. It wasn’t like she was going to steal anything.

Unless, she stole his razor. The man would have his whole schedule thrown off. He would probably go into panic mode. Setting the empty bottles on the counter by the others, she thought it wasn’t a bad idea.

She went to his fridge and opened it. She grabbed two new beer bottles out and shut the fridge. A photo stuck to it by a magnet caught her attention. She leaned closer to get a better look.

It was taken on a beach probably six years ago guessing by how young Octavia and Bellamy looked. Marcus was hugging them close, smiles adorning all faces. Abby never saw him smile like that, or smile in general. It was always that goddamn smirk.

Hell, even his hair wasn’t gelled back _and_ she could see the slightest stubble growing on his face. And, _damn,_ did he look good.

She looked out the glass sliding door to where Marcus was still seated at one of the patio tables. His back was to her but she still got a good glimpse of his face, as it was turned to Jaha, who had taken her chair.

Marcus didn’t seem to be having fun with chatting to him.

His hair was a little longer now than what it was in the picture, ends of his hair curling the slightest. Then there was that one curl on his forehead. It stuck out like a sore thumb but it fit at the same time. She then looked to his cheeks where he was scratching again. She imagined the stubble there.

Oh yeah, she was definitely going to “accidentally” misplace his razor.

Hey, she was going to have to stare at him all season. Might as well as enjoy the view.

She brought the beers with her to his bathroom. She set them on the sink and started raiding the drawers. She came across some reading glasses, extra toothpaste, floss, and a lot aspirin and Motrin. She slid all those shut and looked to the mirror. The mirror itself was a cabinet.

She opened it and began looking around on the shelves. Her eye caught a big bottle sitting on the top shelf. Out of curiosity, she reached up and grabbed it. When she got back on her feet, she read the bottle, “HAIR STYLING GEL”. It was a top brand name.

 _And_ the bottle wasn’t empty. It was at least half full.

She slammed the bottle on the counter top, grinding her teeth in irritation. The little shit lied to her. Through the irritation a bit of curiosity blossomed in her. _Why_ did he lie?

The question burned in her mind as she kept up her search for his razor. She looked to where the bottle had been on the shelf and found her goal. It had been sitting behind the big bottle.

She reached up and grabbed it. Now….where to put it?

“Did you get lost?”

His voice almost sent her into cardiac arrest.

She immediately spun around, her hand holding the razor going behind her back. She found him in the door way of the bathroom, that eyebrow raised in question. He also sported that smirk when he realized the fright he had given her.

She slid the razor into her back pocket, crossing her arms in front of her. “No,” she said like it was a dumb question, “I was looking for some aspirin.”

He walked into the tiny room, making his presence _that_ much more known. He stopped once he was in front of her and grabbed the hair gel. He looked to her, that eyebrow never falling to its normal position. “In my hair gel?”

“That you said you were _out_ of?” She fired back. His little smirk grew more, eye contact never breaking from hers. She rolled her eyes, telling him, “I was checking behind it.”

“Well, you’re definitely not close,” he replied, reaching forward to put the bottle back.

Abby blatantly ignored how he moved closer, their lower halves skimming each other as he reached over to put the bottle back. She also ignored how he smelt a little bit like the forest. But mainly, she ignored how his eyes never left hers the whole time.

Yes, _ignored_.

 _No,_ she didn’t acknowledge the obvious tension between the two. _No_ , she didn’t acknowledge she found herself wanting to run a hand through his hair and fix that _damn_ curl. _No_ , she didn’t acknowledge how she saw his eyes flicker down her face then back to her eyes when he was finished replacing the bottle.

She needed that next beer badly.

He drew his hand back slowly, moving it towards her. It landed on her hip with the lightest touch, but it was enough for a spark to ignite. _No_ , she didn’t acknowledge how the fire from his touch began to spread throughout her.

She _really_ needed that drink.

“Abby,” he told her in a low voice.

 _Damn it_ , even his voice was sending fire throughout her body. She looked up to him, not trusting her words, and settled for asking, “Hm?”

He smirked a little bit, noticing the shift in her mood. He stepped forward the slightest bit, pushing his hand fully against her hip. Nope, she still wasn’t acknowledging now how the fire intensified the moment he pressed his hand more against her. Not at all.

He chuckled a little bit, amused. He told her, “You need to move so I can get into the drawer with the aspirin.”

He nudged the hand that was on her hip for emphasis. She immediately felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. Moving out of the way quickly, she hid her reddening face behind a curtain of hair as she said, “My bad.”

“It’s alright,” he chuckled more. He opened the same drawer she had open moments ago and pulled the bottle out. He looked to her, opening it and asking, “How many?”

She tucked one side of her hair behind her ear, not completely trusting her face yet. “One should be fine,” she replied, but she knew one more beer wasn’t going to be enough.

He hit one out and held it out for her. She took it from his palm and immediately popped it in her mouth. She cracked her beer open and took a good three chugs of it down. He watched her amused as he recapped the bottle and put it away.

“Better?” He asked, grabbed his own beer off the counter.

“Could be better,” she mumbled as she left the bathroom, him following behind her. She heard him chuckle the slightest and she looked back to him. He just shook his head, cracking his own bottle open.

She asked, curious, “What made you come inside?”

He stopped by the sliding door, throwing the caps of their bottles away. He looked to her but nodded towards Jaha who was back at his old table. “The man wouldn’t stop chewing my ear off,” he told her. “Is he always that negative?”

Abby laughed a little. “Unfortunately,” she said, “just be glad you didn’t have to deal with it for five years until now.”

He said, “I would’ve hit him in that time frame.”

She shrugged, “I have.”

He smirked, offering his beer out to her, “Drink to that.”

She smirked back and reached forward, clinking their bottles. They both took a long drink as silence fell between them. After, they both stood, watching the kids mess around.

Raven was sneaking up behind Monty and tapped one of his shoulders, walking by on the other side. Monty spun around trying to find her. Octavia was laughing in response to it. Murphy was giving Wells a noogie as Jasper and Harper watched. Clarke was watching Bellamy and Miller wrestle.

“We still gotta pick a team name,” Marcus suddenly said.

Abby looked to him, asking, “Think of any?”

He shook his head, taking a slow drink. He sighed after, saying, “I’ve tried combing the names but the two are pretty much too opposite to combine.”

“Just like us,” Abby spoke her thoughts aloud. They looked at each other and after a few seconds nodded in agreement. Wasn’t like it was a secret.

Another silence fell in between them as they went back to watching the kids. The events of yesterday’s practice ran through Abby’s head. She remembered the chaos the kids caused, along with the parents. The two teams separate were trouble but combined they were chaos.

She smiled a bit, the perfect name popping up in her mind. She looked to Marcus, saying, “I got it.”

He looked to her, curiosity mirroring on his face and in his voice, “What is it?”

She smiled bigger, rising her beer to her lips as she told him.

“The Delinquents."


	6. You are not defeated when you lose, you are defeated when you quit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet the bad guys and for shit show 2.0

Well, today is the day.

Either the Delinquents were going to pull off a miracle or they were going to live up to everyone’s expectations; especially, those of the Wallace boys.

Abby had just pulled into the complex’s parking lot when she first saw him. The infamous Cage Wallace.

He was standing by his car, hands in his dress pants’ pockets. He wore a matching suit jacket, the middle button being the only one done. His hair was swooshed back into his signature quiff. His eyes were trained on her car.

That’s one thing that bugged her about him. He dressed up to _every_ game. He was always in a suit, a different color for each. He never repeated a color in a single season. It gave off the message she’s sure he wanted to send- that he was better than everyone else.

She’s also remembers how upset he was when Abby “accidentally” splashed mud all over his white suit when her car got “stuck” in mud after their game. She had asked him for help and when he gladly accepted to push her car, she floored the gas pedal. The end result was him looking like a marshmallow dipped in chocolate. He was wearing that same suit now.

She climbed out of her car as Clarke also got out. Abby looked up to see Cage walking to her car as she opened the back end. She told Clarke, “I’ll meet you over there.”

Clarke nodded and ran off to be with Raven who was waiting on the sidewalk. Abby smiled as she watched her daughter reach her and begin to walk to their bench. Her smiled immediately dropped when she turned around and Cage was standing there, leaning against her car.

It was her lucky day, wasn’t it?

He was wearing his big smile, the smile she hated. She hated it more than Marcus’, which she thought was impossible. If you could clone Marcus twenty times into one person, the product would be Cage Wallace.

The smile meant he knew he was winning something. It didn’t matter what it was, hell, he might not even know sometimes, but he was winning and he _knew_ it. So, he wanted to make sure you and everyone else knew.

The problem was Abby knew why he was smiling.

“Good morning, Coach,” he told her, fingers drumming on her car.

Her eyes were watching his fingers and she slowly dragged them to his face. “Cage.”

“Ouch,” he feigned hurt, placing his free hand over his heart, “No greeting? Why so cold? It’s a great day for soccer, don’t you think?”

She wanted to say, “It’s a nice day to run you over with my car,” but she doubted that would be appropriate to say around little kids. So instead she settled for, “Every day is a great day for soccer.”

She pulled her equipment bag from her back end. No way in hell was she letting those poor kids wear those “pennies” again. If Marcus gave her any grief about using hers instead, she may have to hit him with her car too.

“I’m not going to argue that,” he responded. She thought maybe that would be the end of the discussion and he would waltz off to his bench, but she forgot, today was her lucky day. Cage stayed put as she checked the bag quickly.

“Can I help you?” She asked, annoyed as she looked up abruptly. She knew he was watching her and he knew it would rile her up.

He smiled again, that _fucking_ smile. He shook his head slightly. “Nope,” he said, “You’re doing fine.”

She really wish she could hit him with her car right now. Just buckle up and slam her foot on the gas pedal and send him flying all the way to Jupiter. That would wipe the smile off his face.

So, instead, she settled for leaning closer to him, whispering, “If you don’t leave me alone, I am going to fucking ki-”

“Abby.”

Him calling her name caught them both off guard. The two looked behind her to where Marcus stood, arms crossed. He raised an eyebrow at her, saying, “When you two are done, I’d really like to start warm up for the game.”

Abby was very grateful for Marcus in that moment. Sure, she’d never tell him that, but she was. She would rather spend ten hours locked in a room with Marcus then one minute in public with Cage. Both sounded terrible, but she’d settle for the lesser evil.

“We were done a long time ago,” Abby gladly announced and zipped the bag up. She gave Cage a tight lipped smile and also snuck him a middle finger before she shut the back end of her car.

Abby walked over to Marcus and past him, signaling him to follow. Marcus watched Cage for a few seconds longer before finally turning and following her. From behind them, Cage called out, “Hope you’re ready for a long season. I know losing every game can be tiring.”

Abby immediately stopped in her tracks. Marcus stumbled a bit so he wouldn’t run into her. “Abby?” He asked, confused, and if she was mistaken, a little worry in his voice.

Cage laughed a little, adding on later, “Actually, I wouldn’t know.” Her hand on the equipment bag tightened slightly. Her teeth clenched ever so slightly. The rage began to boil in her.

She knew her team was bad. She accepted it a long time ago. She knew they lost every game, no one had to remind her. But they were still _her_ team and she would be damned if anyone talked less about them.

She quickly spun on her heel to glare at him. And would you believe it? He was wearing that _same_ damn smile. The fire in her raged more as she took a small step towards him.

A hand landed on her elbow, slowly and tightly gripping her arm. She looked to hand and followed the arm up to make eye contact with Marcus. He shook his head, telling her, “He wants a reaction out of you.”

“He just insulted my team,” she snapped back, “ _Our_ team. Doesn’t that make you mad?”

“Of course it does,” he whispered back, eyes flickering to where Cage stood. He looked back to her, lowering his voice more, “But he’s just saying it to spite you. Don’t fall for his tricks.”

Abby opened her mouth to argue but then closed it again. She repeated the same gesture as she watched Marcus. She finally looked to Cage, his smile never fading.

She smiled sweetly at him, telling him, “After the game, make sure to check both ways before crossing the parking lot.”

His smile never faltered. If anyone could rival the wall Marcus built up to her insults, it would be Cage. He tilted his head to the side, asking, “Are you threatening me?”

“I would never,” she replied. “I’m just giving you friendly advice.”

He laughed as he finally stood up off her car. He began walking towards the fields and towards his bench. He shouted over to Abby, “Better be careful with your words, Coach. Wouldn’t want you to get a red card the first game of the season, would we?”

She didn’t dignify that with a response. Cage looked over his shoulder to her, winking. “Wouldn’t be the first time though, would it?” Abby thought if he kept talking, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s gotten a bloody nose due to her either. “Red looks good on you, though.”

And how Abby thought how good his body would look laying on the pavement in the parking lot. Abby heard Marcus snort from next to her and she looked up him. He muttered, “He obviously doesn’t remember that dress you wore up to the wrap up party last year.”

Abby’s mouth fell open. She ripped her arm from his grasp. They looked to each other, Abby glaring and Marcus giving her another raised eyebrow. “Are you serious?” She asked him.

“What?” He asked.

She hit his chest. “That comment you just made!”

He moved back from her hit and repeated himself, “What? The dress was horrible, Abby. Even _you_ know that.”

“Cece’s grandmother picked it out for me!”

“And bless you for not breaking the old lady’s heart,” he told her, shaking his head.

He looked at the bag in her hand, asking, “Are these the pennies?” Abby just nodded in response, still a little taken back from the last conversation. “Perfect,” he replied, taking it from her, “I’ll get the kids into possession.”

And with that, he walked off.

Abby didn’t know what left her more dumbfounded: that Abby was starting to realize how ugly the dress _really_ was or the fact that Marcus remembered the dress she wore almost a year ago.

“Ready for the season, Coach Griffin?”

The voice broke her out of her dumbfounded state and she turned to see Dante Wallace walking up. She gave him the same tight lipped smile she had given his son. “What better way to start it off versing you guys?” She asked.

He laughed as he walked by. He looked over his shoulder to her. “I couldn’t agree more,” he replied and kept walking.

The line sent her into another rage. She resisted the urge to flip him off behind his back. There _were_ kids around. Abby didn’t need that red card yet.

She wanted nothing more than for Marcus to experience her last place shame but right now, she was praying for some miracle to happen that would let the Delinquents crush Mount Weather.

It was her lucky day, wasn’t it?

+

It wasn’t her lucky day.

At least not for good karma, that is.

It’s barely ten minutes into the game and it’s already a shit show. It was like their first practice chaos but on steroids. And if there was anyone to blame, it was Marcus.

Because who chooses a 3-2-2 (three defenders, two midfielders, and two forwards)? It gave them no depth in the width of the field. That in turn made it crowded up front because the two forwards had no outlets on the sides.

He told her it would be fine, to trust him. She didn’t believe either but she kept her mouth shut because he wasn’t going to give up. And would you look at that, she was right. It was _terrible_.

The back three consisted of Miller and Raven on the outside with Murphy in the middle of the two. It was a solid backline if they could stop repeating fatal mistakes. Raven kept diving in, getting burned by each forward that challenged her. In turn, Miller would get angry and stop tracking his mark back, leaving them wide open on the far side. Murphy would get upset at both of them and take it out on the poor forward, either resulting in a foul or being easily beaten with a simple touch around him.

Wells was doing well up until his sixth shot of the game (yes _sixth_ already). It looked like he had lost confidence in himself. You could see it draining away after every shot. While Marcus and Abby tried to cheer him up, Murphy was beating him down. The father of the two boys, Jaha, did nothing to try and stop it. He wasn’t even paying attention when the events occurred. He only saw Wells give up three goals and Murphy get burned.

The two who started in the middle were Harper and Monty. Abby understood why they started, they were the two best midfielders on the team. The problem was they had never played with each other before. With how nice Harper was to Monty and how shy he was, they weren’t getting progress anywhere. She wouldn’t criticize his mistakes, she would let them fly over her head. In result, Monty kept making the same mistakes over and over.

“God, the kid made the same mistake for the fifth time. You think he’d learn that what he’s doing isn’t working,” Abby had heard Roan say from the sideline. _Wait for it…_

“And what has your little princess done? Nothing important as far as I remember,” Cece shot back, seated a few chairs down from him. _There it was._

“I know one thing she isn’t doing,” he immediately snapped back, “turning the ball over every time she touches it.” _And so it begins._

Abby zoned them out, seeing Sinclair trying to calm Cece down and David Miller do the same for Roan. She expected that to happen at least five more times before the half was over. She was just hoping the chair throwing would be saved for after the game. And, _yes_ , Cece has thrown a chair at Roan before.

Next was Clarke and Bellamy up top. They weren’t working together at all. It was like they were working on two different levels: head and heart.

Clarke kept trying to direct him to make a run for a pass but he would make another which he thought was the right choice. Clarke would think out a move, pass, or run before executing it. She wanted to survey the field and pick the best possible solution to benefit them all.

Bellamy went with his heart’s decision, what his first gut extinct was. If he believed he could take on the three defenders to get _one_ goal, he would do it. He believed they needed to react to the game quickly, that in their position, there was no time for stopping and thinking. One extra touch on the ball and the whole game already changed.

This miscommunication caused them to miss a lot of opportunities to get the ball up field and maybe score.

Jasper was subbed in for Monty and the two coaches heard Roan say, “Bout damn time they took him out.”

“What did you say?” Cece shouted at him.

He looked to her, unfazed and replied, “You heard me,” and went back to watching the game.

Jasper was a disaster on two legs. The kid didn’t know how to hold his position. He ended up all the way by Wells at one point, then somehow ended up by Clarke. Him being out of position resulted in open space for Mount Weather to attack 2v1 on Harper.

Octavia was then subbed in for Harper. She seemed nervous and like she really didn’t want to be out there. When Miller passed her the ball, she froze. A kid from Mount Weather easily stole it from her. That earned a yell from Miller who didn’t try to stop the kid who flew by him that had stolen it from him. Poor Wells didn’t stand a chance at that point.

And that’s how the game turned into a shit show with only ten minutes into the game. It was 0-4 to Mount Weather already. Abby saw Cage smiling over to her from across the field as the fourth goal went in. It took every ounce of her to behave and not flip him off. Or hit him with her car.

“I think this a record on how fast a game can go to shit for us,” Jaha commented. Abby and Marcus looked back to him for the comment as he looked from his phone to them. “Congratulations,” he added.

Just one punch, just _one_. That’s all she needed to get her frustration out. All the frustration from the stupid idea of merging their teams, Marcus himself, the Wallace boys, the parents, and the kids. Just one punch would absolve it all…

“You okay?” Jackson suddenly appeared by Abby’s side, worry written across his face.

Abby looked out to the field where Raven had once again dived for the ball. Marcus screamed, pulling at his hair, “How many times do I have tell you, Raven! Don’t dive! Be patient!”

The only comforting thing in this whole situation was seeing how riled up Marcus got. He was feeling the frustration she sure he felt normally but ramped up. _Welcome to her world_ , she thought.

She looked back to Jackson, telling him, “We’ll see.”

It didn’t ease the man’s worries.

By the time Jackson had walked away back to his chair, Mount Weather had scored again. Marcus hid his hands in his face, shaking his head as he walked away to the bench. Abby looked over to where Cage stood, him smiling big.

Abby flipped him off as she turned to face Marcus. She heard Cage laughing behind her and she curled her hands into fists. She stormed over to Marcus, snatching his marker board from him. He looked up in surprise.

She looked at the lineup he had written on the board. She looked to where Monty and Harper were sitting on the bench. She looked to the field where Bellamy once again tried to take on too many players and lost the ball.

The Mount Weather player stormed up the field and into the space Jasper was supposed to be in. Instead he was all the way besides Clarke again. Octavia was stuck all alone in the middle and she looked like she had no idea what to do. The two Mount Weather players easily did a give-and-go around her.

Murphy stepped up to apply pressure to the kid but he quickly passed it Emerson. He stepped over the ball, making it seem like he was going to drag the ball to his left, but he quickly averted his foot and tapped it to the outside, his right side. Raven fell for it easily, lunging in. Emerson sprinted around her.

Miller was on the back post, not doing much to help Wells in the box. Murphy was trying his best to muscle the other Mount Weather player away from the goal. Emerson sent in a cross across the box.

Murphy lost the battle and the Mount Weather player was able to jump up and head the ball. Miller’s mark was standing in front of Wells, obstructing his view. He dove for the ball but it was too late, the ball went in the net. Mount Weather scored again.

“ _Damn it!_ ” Abby screamed as she threw Marcus’ marker board at the ground.

“Hey!” Marcus shouted as it collided with the ground. It snapped in half, the marker flying towards the field.

Abby wished she had cared she broke it. It resembled how she felt inside after every game. Just because she accepted that fact they lose every game didn’t mean she was okay with it.

Sure, she may want to see Marcus suffer like she has that’s because she wants him to know this feeling. Every time he bragged about that one win, the _one_ win she never got, it hurt. All she wanted was to win one, just _one_ game. Mainly and most importantly, for the kids.

She only ever wants them to have fun and be happy. She knows winning isn’t everything and that they have fun and are happy regardless, but she knows they would love to win a game. Just to see their dream come true would bring them more happiness. If they ever only won _one_ game and lost the rest for their rest of the soccer careers, Abby would be fine with that. She knows they would be too.

So no, to answer Jackson’s question, she was not okay. There was a sliver of hope (that she would never admit to anyone) that maybe, _maybe_ , she could now win that game for the kids with Marcus’ help. He knew the feeling of winning and experienced it, she didn’t. She didn’t know how to give that to a team. She just would hope they’d get a lucky break.

At the thought, she looked over to Marcus who was picking up the two halves of his board. She had her arms crossed now and he looked up to meet her eyes. If she believed he might actually be a human being with compassion, she would’ve registered the emotion in his eyes as concern.

It freaked her out, so she joked to him, “Maybe if you didn’t spend all your money on hair care products, maybe you could buy a quality marker board.”

It was silent, he didn’t respond. It made her uncomfortable. He was supposed to respond and make a snarky comment on how she’s more concerned with his hair than the game. So, _why_ didn’t he?

Don’t kid yourself, it didn’t escape her attention that his hair was slicked back again and somehow he shaved. She had thrown his razor out in his trash at the team party. She’d deal with that later.

He resembled Marcus, but he wasn’t acting like Marcus.

He still hadn’t responded. She was starting to panic. _Why_ wasn’t he being Marcus?

How ironic right? Every day she prayed to God that He would shut Marcus up and make him stop being Marcus. Now, He’s granted that prayer and she doesn’t want it all. _Why?_

Finally, saving her from entering cardiac arrest, he responded, “I’ll think about next time I’m in the hair care aisle.”

It wasn’t as Marcus as she thought it would be, but it was something. She hesitated a bit, nodding and responded, “Good.” It was awkward, goddamn it, why did she have to be awkward? She’s had outbursts before, why did this one matter all the sudden?

They held each other’s gaze for a few more seconds before they saw the familiar figure in a yellow uniform walk up to them. They looked to see the referee, Alie, shaking her head. She had her booklet out. Abby knew what that meant.

Alie pulled a yellow card out, showing her it. Abby nodded and stepped off the line a bit. Alie told her, “It’s the first game and I heard about this situation,” she pointed between the two, “so I’ll leave you with a warning. Don’t let it happen again, Abby.”

“It won’t,” She told her, smiling as best as she could.

“Don’t make a promise you can’t keep,” Marcus suddenly said beside her.

The two looked to him and he was wearing his smirk, his eyes trained on Abby. She felt the fire suddenly begin to ignite back, pushing back the scared and upset emotions she had suddenly felt. She crossed her arms, tilting her head, and said, “You’d be surprised.”

Alie added in as she wrote in her booklet, “That would make two of us.” She then walked off and blew the whistle for the half to continue.

Abby and Marcus kept looking at each other, forgetting the game, the score, the kids, the parents, and the unexplainable hate between them. The noise silenced out and everything blurred together except each other.

His hair was slicked back like she noticed earlier. Not a single strand was out of place. His jaw freshly shaven, not a cut or stubble in sight. His eyes were taunting, the warm brown color swimming with their usual mischief. And there it was: the infamous smirk. The smirk that drove Abby up a wall, made her want to rip her hair out, hit him with a car, or _anything_. Whatever it was, it got a reaction out of her. Every. Time.

But it felt right. It felt normal. And she was okay with that.


	7. Life is a gamble, so roll the dice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *batman theme song* nananananananananana plot time!!!!!!

There should be alcohol at this party, there _are_ adults.

Okay, so maybe Abby just needed a buzz to shake off that 0-14 loss. Hey, it was less than last year, so she can’t complain too much. _And_ she was _this_ close to having Cage meeting her front bumper. So, there were many close wins tonight.

After every first game of the season, Pike throws a little party for the start of the season. It’s a way to have all teams come together and just relax. It was nice in theory, only if the Wallaces didn’t use it every year to brag about the year prior.

Tonight was no different.

She had managed to escape Cage all night so far. She was with Cece and Jackson mainly. After the shit show of a first game, Abby needed to cool down. Her eyes drifted towards where Marcus stood with Sinclair and David Miller. She also needed to re-evaluate what had happened on that sideline.

She believed what had happened was all her worries came crashing together: wanting to win one game, wanting Marcus suffer like she had, the whole merging situation, and the game itself. She had become overwhelmed, but now she was calm again.

She still wanted to win those kids one game, but she also knew how impossible that would be. It was a never ending nerve wrecking cycle. So, she would stick to her original game plan- have fun along the way and hope they get a lucky break. And until then, she would revel in the fact that Marcus will have to suffer through it with her.

Seemed like a perfect plan.

And it was, until Cage walked up to the trio. He smiled at them all before locking eyes with Abby. “Good evening opponents,” he told them. “It was a great day for soccer, wasn’t it?”

He raised his eyebrows at them, waiting for a response. He raised his glass to lips, taking a long sip of his drink. Abby remembered their conversation from earlier that day and knew he was mocking her. How she _really_ wish he had become acquainted with her front bumper.

“Of course it was,” Jackson replied to him, smiling genuinely. Abby gave it to Jackson, he made it seem like he didn’t hate the man. Hell, Cage even probably bought it too.

Cage smacked his lips after finishing his drink off and sighed in content. He smiled again, setting his glass down. He grabbed the tea pitcher and began to refill his glass while asking, “And do you know why Jackson?”

Jackson fell silent, a little confused. Cage finished pouring his glass and he sit the pitcher down. He capped it off and grabbed his glass. He was smiling still and tipped his glass towards him and answered his own question, “Because every day is a great day for soccer.”

Yup, he was definitely mocking her. He knew he was too. He shifted his eyes over to Abby as he raised the glass to his lips again. If she just _accidentally_ knocked his glass over and spilt the brown liquid on his white suit…

“I’m sure it is,” a voice spoke out behind him.

All eyes shifted to land on Marcus, who was walking over. He offered the group a smile as he made it by Cage, a glass of red liquid in his own hand. He lifted it and tipped it towards Cage, saying, “Cheers to that.”

Cage was hesitant. Abby didn’t blame him. She regarded the scene with curious eyes. Marcus was never this civil with Cage. He was always undermining him, even though Cage stood superior in the standings. But could Abby blame him? She did the same damn thing.

It drove Cage mad. He didn’t know how to handle their banter half the time. Other times he knew exactly how to shut them down. Tonight wasn’t one of those times.

Cage finally nodded and repeated him, “Cheers to that,” and went to meet Marcus halfway to clink their glasses. The only problem was, Marcus missed his glass head on, hitting the side, and the glass fell forward, its contents splashing out.

Abby wished she had her phone out. She wished she had recorded the whole thing.

Marcus’ red drink had landed _all_ over Cage’s white suit.

“Well shit,” Marcus said, “my bad.”

It took everything in Abby to not laugh. His voice was dripping in sarcasm, making it obvious he wasn’t sorry at all and that _maybe_ he did it on purpose.

He made eye contact with her for a split second and she knew. He did it on purpose. The little smirk, barely noticeable (she could never miss it), was there on his lips as he watched Cage stare at his suit in disbelief.

And then Marcus did what Marcus does best: be Marcus.

He grabbed a napkin off the nearest table and waved a hand where Cage’s eyes were. They snapped up to meet his gaze as Marcus held up the napkin. “Do I dab or scrub?”

A snort escaped Abby’s lips, barely, but it was audible enough. Cage’s head snapped to her and she covered her mouth. Almost immediately, she saw the fire combust in his eyes.

Oh boy, Cage was _pissed_.

He looked back to Marcus, voice seeping with anger, “Is that what you resort to when you lose, Kane?” He nodded back where to Abby stood. “Do you sink to her level?”

“Has she spilt cranberry juice on you before?”

Oh _boy_ , Marcus was playing with fire. He knew it, however, that didn’t stop him. Cage liked to talk down to everyone and make them feel lower in status than him. He would get a taste of his own medicine that Marcus would gladly serve him.

“So,” Marcus repeated himself, raising the napkin for emphasis, “Dab or scrub?”

Cage gritted his teeth and snatched the napkin from him, spitting out, “Neither. And you know what I’m talking about.” He regained some of his posture, his smile starting to grow. “Resorting to childish tactics after a hard loss.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow at him, then looked at the other three, before his eyes settled on Cage again. He pointed at him, pretending to whisper to him, “You do realize you’re the youngest here, right?”

Cage lost some of his posture then. He quickly regained it, swatting his finger away. He said, “This is exactly what I’m talking about. You have to make up for your hurt pride from losing by acting out.”

Marcus didn’t respond this time, he just watched Cage. Abby observed the two carefully. Both had their hair fixed perfectly to their desires. Both had firm postures to assert dominance and control. Both were clean and cut in regards to everything with appearance. The only difference was their clothing.

Cage wore his suits to demonstrate and show off his power. He used it to further prove his point of being in control. Marcus, however, wore his signature worn out jeans, boots, and simple gray t-shirt with the same leather jacket. He didn’t try to sell his power or control, he knew he had it. He didn’t have to flash it for everyone to know. That was the difference between the two.

Cage was insecure about his power, even though he had a team no one could defeat. He was worried it wasn’t enough; he wanted more. So, he made sure to expel it at every moment he could.

Marcus was content with his power. He had control of a team that followed his commands. He was respected, well for the _most_ part, among the other coaches. Even though he couldn’t prove his power in the results, everyone knew the power he had. He just chose not to assert it like Cage.

Cage crossed his arms, his smile big. “You know I’m right,” he said. He looked over his shoulder to Abby while adding, “I know you got shoved to the bottom with the worst, but that doesn’t mean you have to sink to their level.”

Abby wished she had a glass of cranberry juice at that moment. She would’ve dumped it down his white trousers.

Marcus shot back, “And you don’t have to make every team below you feel like shit for being a lesser team but here we are, you doing _exactly_ that.”

Cage didn’t back down. “It’s not my fault your team sucks. It’s not my fault her team sucks. You can’t win a game?” He shrugged. “Sounds like a personal problem, not my problem.”

“Actually,” Abby snapped at him, joining the conversation, “It _is_ your problem.”

He turned his body to be facing both. He tilted his head to the side, asking, “And how so?”

“You know how,” Abby replied, a bitter note in her tone. “Your team is, no pun intended, out of this league. Your players’ talents are way above any in this league. The other teams have no chance of ever placing above yours, let alone beating you.”

Cage smiled that smile and Abby felt herself get more riled up. This was a touchy subject between the two that almost _always_ ended up with Cage having a bloody nose and Abby a bloody fist. He replied only with, “Thank you.”

Abby’s fist instinctively curled together, fingers twitching. One punch would knock his lights out and add even more red to his suit. She would be happy to add to the masterpiece.

He shrugged and said, “So, you’re admitting none of the teams are good enough to beat me. Again, that’s not my problem. Train harder and better, _improve_.” He looked between the two before adding more to himself than to them, “Probably won’t make a difference for you anyways.”

Abby had taken a step forward but Jackson put a hand on her arm. It was enough to keep her from punching him. There were kids around and some of the other parents were starting to watch on. It was hard not to though, he had insulted the kids with that comment, not them. She was okay with insults at her, but not the kids.

It didn’t seem Marcus was okay with it either as he stepped forward, getting close to Cage. He whispered in a low voice, venom seeping through in the slightest, “Insult the kids one more time and that won’t be the only red you get on your suit tonight.”

Those words and his tone sent a chill down Abby’s spine. Sure, she’s heard Marcus threaten her but it was never serious. It was _never_ spoken like that.

Cage didn’t flinch back. He stayed in his spot and kept his eye contact with Marcus. He had that smile which Abby knew was bad news. He had the upper hand, he _always_ did. He replied, asking in a taunting voice, “Are you threatening me?”

“More of a promise,” Marcus shot back.

Cage laughed a little. He shook his head and pushed Marcus back slightly, giving them space between each other. He told him, growing serious, “You know damn well if you touch me, Pike will fire you faster than you can lose control of a game.”

“It would be worth every hit I land,” Marcus seethed between his teeth.

“Really?” Cage tested. “Then do it.”

It fell silent in the group. Jackson was silent ever since Marcus had first come over, in shock. Cece had been standing beside Abby, watching and taking in the whole scene. Abby was intrigued, wondering if Marcus would actually hit him. Hell, she was rooting for him to. God knows how many times she has already.

“Well?” Cage taunted him, his smile slowly growing. “I’m waiting.”

Abby saw Marcus flinch. He clenched and unclenched his hands. He licked his lips, biting it as well. He shook his head, stepping back. He told him, “You’re lucky my want to beat you on the field is higher than my want to hit to you right now.”

“I’m sure that’s what it is,” Cage told him and even patted Marcus on the shoulder. Abby saw Marcus smiley tightly at him. Cage added, “Too bad, because you could’ve had half of that. You’ll never get the first half.”

“And how do you know that?” Marcus asked.

“You know why,” Cage replied bluntly. Everyone knew he was talking about their coaching abilities and kids once again. He laughed a little, stating, “I mean, Pike combined your teams and you still couldn’t beat me. What makes you think you ever will?”

Abby hated it; Abby hated that he was right. She wanted nothing more to retort against it that they _could_ but she knew she couldn’t. Marcus knew they couldn’t. Cage knew they couldn’t. They would need that lucky break Abby was holding out for.

“Never say never,” Marcus responded, hope lacing his voice. Abby regarded him with curiosity. She wondered if he actually believed that or not.

“As long as I’m in this league,” Cage whispered, the playful tone in his voice absent, “your team will never see a win. Not only against me, but everyone else.”

Marcus tilted his head to the side, intrigued. Abby also was intrigued in where the sudden hostility came from.

Then a light bulb went off.

She guessed it came from his insecurity about the power he held. If they won a game, his power in the league would be threatened. Any team making progress in the league was a threat to his secure position in the standing on top. The last team to ever pose a threat to him were the Grounders, Indra’s team. Like Pike had told them, Indra had to fold the team due to a conflict with a work promotion and players leaving. The threat was gone.

If Cage being in the league was going to be another roadblock for Abby getting that impossible win for the kids, then she would have to solve it. She abruptly asked, “What will it take for you to leave the league?”

The two men looked to her suddenly. The question hung in the air. Sure, she had joked many times to him and his father about leaving the league and moving his team to a rightful one. This time, however, she was serious. This wasn’t a joke. She had enough of this.

He still hadn’t responded, so she asked again, “What’ll take?”

He looked at the others, more parents watching them now. He straightened up, fixing his jacket as best he could with the red stains on it. He flipped his hair back a bit, looking back to her. “Nothing,” he answered, “I’m never leaving the league.”

“Why?” She immediately asked. She knew the answer and from the look on his face, he was afraid she did too. So she said it, “Are you afraid to move on to a better league? That maybe your team won’t be the best anymore?”

His face was unreadable which meant Abby _was_ right. For once, Abby had the upper hand and _damn_ it felt good. She kept pestering him, “That you’ll lose the control you have on this league once you do? And worst of all,” she smiled sweetly at him, “that your team may end up like mine?”

He snapped. His nose twitched as he spat back, “My team will never be like yours.”

“Not if you stay here, no,” She agreed. “But the moment you leave this league, the chance of that happening increases. And you don’t want that, do you?”

He didn’t dignify her with a response. He knew she was right. “That’s fine,” she shrugged, “Who would choose to give up never ending championships? Not a sane person, that’s for sure, but change happens. It’s inevitable.”

“What do you mean?” He was beginning to crack under her pressure. Marcus was regarding with curiosity but also with what she guessed was pride.

“I mean,” she replied, “anything can happen. The longer you stay in the league, the chance of you losing your spot on top increases. No one is meant to stay on top forever.”

“My team is.”

“Are you willing to risk that and find out?”

He didn’t honor that with a response. He looked to everyone again and then settled on looking in between the two coaches. He said, “A win against me.”

Marcus was confused and asked, “What?”

He nodded at Abby, explaining, “You wanted to know what it’ll take for me to leave the league? That’s it:  a win against Mount Weather.”

Abby and Marcus looked to each other, a little fear mixed into the gaze. Marcus looked back to him, stating the obvious, “We don’t verse you again this year.”

“In regular season no,” he agreed, “but there is a chance for you to verse us again.”

“Playoffs,” Abby answered.

 _Shit_. They would have to place in the top four, meaning they would have win over of half their games, totaling four. One game already resulted in a loss, only leaving them two more games open for losses.

Abby looked to Marcus who was watching her. She felt the sliver of hope again, that maybe him, a coach who had experienced winning, could help get their team there. He could be the piece she was missing in her coaching.

He nodded to her and they both looked to Cage. Abby said, “Deal.”

Cage smirked, more sinister than his usual smile. “But,” he stated, “if we win that game or you don’t make the playoffs at all, you both quit coaching for the league.”

Silence fell between the three. Abby’s heart skipped a beat as she looked over to Marcus, who held similar fears in his eyes- fear that they would lose the team.

These were kids they watched grow up and bonded with. These were kids they went through tough losses with, and well, more losses. They weren’t just a team, they were a family.

But they both knew if they truly wanted to kids to succeed to the best of their ability, they had to give them their best chance. If their best chance wasn’t with them, but another coach, then so be it. They make not like it, but they will always support the kids, whether they be on the bench or on the sideline.

The understanding shone in each other’s eyes and both nodded. Abby looked to Cage, telling him, “Deal.”

Cage’s smile grew as he held his hand out for her to shake. She looked at it, the pit growing in her stomach already. She looked over to Marcus who offered a smile of comfort. Looking back to Cage, she firmly shook his hand. He did the same with Marcus.

To hell with the plan to let Marcus suffer like she did every year. If they did, they wouldn’t get another year to make a comeback. They couldn’t wait for that lucky break, they needed it now.

Cage straightened his suit jacket again, cracking his neck. He smiled big, telling them both, “I’m looking forward to the email at the end of the year stating that you’ll be departing."

Marcus responded blandly, “Can’t wait for yours either.”

“I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

“I guess we will.”

The two stared each other down for a good few seconds before he smiled at them both. He turned without another word and began to walk to the entrance.

“Cage,” Abby called out. He had reached the door but paused and looked back to her. She mocked him from earlier, “Red looks good on you.”

She could see the anger and embarrassment rush to his cheeks. He didn’t dignify her with a response except storming out. It was silent after that.

“Holy shit,” Cece broke the silence. Soon enough everyone went back to their previous conversation. Cece added, “I need to go break the news to the parents. Come on, Jackson!”

She dragged him off, his eyes wide as he watched Abby until he was gone from view. Abby watched the last spot he was in until she heard Marcus behind her, “You really think we can do it?”

She looked up to him. She shrugged, telling him, “We need a miracle.”

“Easier said than done,” he chuckled a bit.

It became silent between them but it was comfortable. They both watched the party silently as the process of what just happened actually settled into their brains. At the same time, they looked each other.

Marcus said what they were both thinking, “We’re fucked.”

Abby laughed, genuinely. He wasn’t lying. They were going to really need that lucky break to come through for them. Or, like he said, they were fucked.

“I don’t know,” she told him, “I think I rattled him up pretty good. I think we can do it.”

He looked down to her, asking, “Honestly?”

She nodded and looked up to him. “It’s been this way for five years, Marcus. I wasn’t lying when I said change is inevitable. It _has_ to change. It already has.”

He was watching her, taking in every word. “How so?”

“First off with Indra,” she told him, “her team is gone. That changes the whole league already. Then we merge our two teams. That’s another change. They’re bound to keep coming.”

The two kept their gazes locked on each other. The last line she said echoed in her head as she watched him and waited for his response. Would they change as well? Would it be for the worst or for the best?

Finally, he asked, “And what makes you think those changes will be in our favor?”

She smiled as she crossed her arms over her chest. She never broke eye contact with him as she told him, “Let’s call it hope."


	8. Unity is strength, division is weakness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> place your bets ladies and gents !!!!

Today was the first practice since the shit sh- game last weekend. This upcoming weekend, they had game #2. They were going to verse Ice Nation. They were the second top team in the league.

Again, Marcus didn’t want to start practice off with sharks and minnows. He wanted to start off with possession again.

Abby pointed out, “Last time we did, we got our ass kicked.”

He didn’t argue after that, throwing his stack of cones at her, while mumbling as he mocked her statement. She may have gotten hit in the fact with the cones, but it didn’t stop her smile of triumph.

Clarke came running over as the cones fell to the ground in a mess, helping her mother pick them up. She asked as they did, “Are we playing sharks and minnows?”

Abby collected the cones from Clarke that she had gathered. She smiled at her, nodding. She told her, “Yep,” she winked, “finally got through that thick skull of his.”

“My thick what?”

Both heads turned to see Marcus standing behind them, his arms crossed with a raised eyebrow in question. Abby stood up with Clarke and hit him beside the head with the stack of cones and said, “That.”

He glared at her as he held the side of his head, fixing the hair she had slightly set askew. She jutted her lower lip out in a pout, distorting her voice to a baby one asking, “Did I mess up your hair?”

Clarke immediately burst into giggles, attracting the attention of Octavia and Raven who were nearby. The duo walked over to her as Abby walked away from a glaring Marcus to set up the grid.

Raven crossed her arms as she watched the two. Clarke’s laughter finally died down as Marcus ran his fingers through his hair to make sure the strands weren’t askew anymore. He soon followed after her to make sure she set the grid up correctly.

“Hmmm,” Raven wondered aloud.

The other two girls looked to her, seeing her in deep concentration. Octavia asked her, “What’s on the mind, Reyes?”

“Them,” Raven answer, nodding to their coaches.

The two looked to where she was watching them. Abby was setting up the grid for warm ups and Marcus kept moving the cones she had laid down. She had yet to realize it.

“What about them?” Clarke asked, watching as Abby turned around to check out her line and froze when she realized what Marcus had done. She threw her hands up in frustration while he stood there with his hands in his pockets and he wore his signature smirk.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Raven asked.

“Um,” Octavia answered, “setting up practice?”

“Mhmmm,” Raven acknowledged and continued to watch them.

Abby had stormed over to Marcus was standing, guilty by the cone line he had moved. She started to accuse him of sabotaging her warm up. He just took the hit and told her he was helping her improve it. She told him if he wanted to help, he would sit still and not interfere.

He didn’t respond after that, just looked at her with that smirk. She got annoyed and hit him with the cones she was holding. She proceeded to build the grid off his cone line. He didn’t move from his spot.

Raven suddenly told them, “Flirting.”

The two looked from the coaches to her again. Clarke asked, “Flirting?” Raven nodded. “My mom and Coach Kane?” She nodded again. Clarke frowned and told her, grossed out, “Never! My mom _hates_ him.”

“And,” Octavia added in, “my dad _hates_ her.”

“For now,” Raven said matter-of-factly. She shrugged, telling them, “You both have read enough books to know how the enemy to lover trope works out.”

The two looked at each other and then to their respective parent. Abby had finally set the grid up, going back over to Marcus. She handed him the cones and he grabbed the cones, but Abby didn’t let go. He went to pull them but Abby tightened her grip on them.

They had a glare off for a few before Marcus yanked hard on the cones, however, Abby let go as he did. The cones came flying at him, hitting him and falling to the floor in a mess. Marcus blinked in shock for a moment before looking to the cones and then to Abby.

The girls heard Abby say something along the lines of, “That’s for fucking my cones up.” She walked away before he could respond.

Raven looked at the two girls and raised an eyebrow at them. The two looked to each other again before looking to Raven. “Well?” Raven asked.

Octavia made a gagging sound. “That’s disgusting to think about! That’s my dad!”

“And my mom!”

Raven shrugged and looked around, making sure Abby and Marcus weren’t close by. They were now arguing over whose pennies to use. Raven was praying Abby would win that argument.

She asked, “And what about the other times? All those times your mom comments on his hair? All those times your dad brings up her mom when she has nothing to do with the conversation? And don’t forget the other countless moments of teasing between them.”

The two stayed quiet as they took her words in, remembering the events. Octavia spoke up, “I do remember hearing Coach Griffin say something about him not using so much hair gel and then he didn’t use any the day of the party. He asked Bell and I if it looked okay.”

Clarke nodded and said, “I always see Mom staring at his hair. She also touches his face a lot whenever she gets the chance.”

“Bingo,” Raven concluded. She smirked a little, getting closer to them. She whispered, “Wanna make a bet?”

“A bet?” Clarke asked.

Raven nodded and Octavia asked, “On what?”

Raven nodded towards the two coaches who were getting blue pennies out of Abby’s bag (which Raven was thanking the Lord that Abby had won the argument over whose pennies to use). “Them,” she answered. “Let’s bet on who makes the first move.”

The other two girls watched their parents and then looked back to Raven. “Let’s do it,” they said together.

Raven grinned and told them, “Place your bets ladies!”

Octavia looked back at the parents for a good while. She finally looked back to Raven saying, “My dad acts like a hardass but he’s an actual softie. He’ll cave first.”

“Octavia is betting Marcus,” Raven stated, looking to Clarke. “Who are you betting on?”

Clarke was watching her mother and Coach Kane. Marcus said something that earned a probably well-deserved glare from her mom. Clarke looked back to Raven saying, “I’m betting on Marcus, only because I think he’ll try too hard to make my mom cave, but end up doing it himself.”

“Interesting,” Raven commented.

“Who are you betting on?” Clarke asked her.

She looked to the coaches and told her, “Your mom.”

“My mom?”

She nodded and looked back to Clarke, saying, “I’ve had your mom has a coach for five years now. I know when she wants something, she goes after it and doesn’t stop till she gets it.”

“Solid point,” Clarke commented.

“What’s the winner get?” Octavia asked, very interested in the bet.

“I hadn’t thought of that yet,” Raven admitted.

“How about the losers have to do the others’ homework in whatever subject they want for a week?” Octavia offered.

“You just don’t want to do your algebra,” Clarke retorted.

Octavia wasn’t ashamed, Clarke’s assumption was correct. “Maybe,” she agreed, “but then you wouldn’t have to worry about history.”

“And I wouldn’t have to worry about English,” Raven admitted. “I’m down for that being the prize.”

The two looked to Clarke for confirmation. Clarke examined the option and nodded and said, “Fine. Sounds good. _But_ the winner also gets ice cream from the losers.”

“Fine by me,” Octavia complied.

“It’s settled then,” Raven concluded. She threw her arms in the air, saying, “It’s official! It’s on.”

“What’s on?”

The three girls turned to face their coaches, Abby being the one to have asked the question. Raven smiled innocently, replying, “Practice is!”

“Yeah!” Octavia added on, smiling big. “We’re excited for practice!”

“Are you?” Marcus questioned. He really doubted it.

“Totally!” Clarke pitched in. She had a big grin on her face. “Especially since we’re playing shark and minnows!”

“Shark and minnows?” Octavia asked.

“You’ve _never_ played shark and minnows?” Raven asked, dumbfounded.

“No…” Octavia replied, feeling a bit awkward.

“That’s because I hear you never had fun at your practices with Kane. Lucky for you, I’m your coach now too!” Abby told her.

“Ain’t nothing lucky about it,” Marcus mumbled. He got a face full of a blue penny as Abby tossed it in his face in response to his mumble. The three girls laughed.

Abby grinned and told Octavia, “It’s a fun game we used to play every practice for warm up. You’ll love it!”

Octavia grinned as Clarke grabbed her wrist, telling her, “Come on! We’ll give you a short run down of the instructions.”

“Okay!” Octavia said and ran away with the two girls down to the end of the grid where everyone else was lined up, except Murphy who stood in the middle of the grid in a penny.

Marcus watched Octavia run down to the end of the grid. He felt himself smiling a tad, happy to see her finally having fun at soccer. She had never smiled like that at one of his practice before. There was a sad twist in his heart at that realization but he was happy she was happy now.

“Ready for the best warm up you’ve ever seen, Kane?”

He looked from his daughter to Abby. She was smirking up to him, confidence oozing off her. He smirked his signature smirk, telling her, “I’ve already seen it. We performed it last week.”

She titled her head in thought and her eyes drifted up to where his hair was. It was once again slicked back. It was instinct she swore. No way in hell would she have done what she did consciously, she decided as she felt her hand reach up.

Her hand found its way in his hair, surprising them both. His eyes were widened a bit as he made eye contact with her. She was yelling at herself to not freak out or acknowledge how soft his hair was. She kept the same facial expression as before, cocky, and told him, “You sure these locks aren’t gelled back too tightly?”

He didn’t have a response right away. All he could think about was her hands in his hair and how _good_ it felt. He didn’t want her to stop. By the look breaking through her composure, he guessed she didn’t want to either.

He got ahold of himself enough to respond, “I don’t know, you tell me.”

The response caught her off guard. She should’ve expected such an answer. It _was_ Marcus she was dealing with. So, she’d be Abby back.

She slightly tugged at his hair. She saw the fire erupt in his eyes and his jaw twitch the slightest. She had control in this situation and she loved knowing it. She tilted her head to the other side, saying, “I think so.”

He smirked more, telling her, “Really? I can’t feel it.”

She tugged a bit harder, smirking as she saw him close his eyes for a split second. He made eye contact with her again, the fire burning ice cold now. She smiled sweetly, telling him, “Want to know how to fix it?”

“Do tell,” his voice was a little husky, rough on the edges. There were a million ways Abby could think of to free his hair, but none of them were appropriate to name in front of a bunch of kids.

She swallowed, feeling her control of the situation slipping a little. She responded, keeping eye contact, “Use less hair gel.”

“Noted,” he responded, his eyes never leaving hers. They kept eye contact for a while, her hand still in his hair.

A cough broke their trance. They both looked behind Abby to see Murphy standing there, arms crossed and foot tapping against the ground. “Do you two need a room?” He asked.

Both flushed with embarrassment. Abby yanked her hair from his hair and spun around to face Murphy. Marcus began furiously running a hand through his hair, trying to get rid of the burn she left where her hand had been.

“Pay attention, Murphy,” Marcus snapped back at him.

“Yeah, whatever,” Murphy responded as he turned to face the others at the other end.

Abby yelled for them to start the drill. Murphy was the “shark” and everyone else were “minnows”. Murphy didn’t have a ball but the others did. They had to dribble past him and reach the other end of the grid without him kicking it out. If he kicked their ball out, they became a shark and joined him. The process continued until one minnow was left standing. They were then the winner and the shark the next round.

All the “minnows” ran forward and the “shark” charged forward. Octavia was behind the rest, watching on a bit as she dribbled forward. Murphy threw him into a tackle with Miller, easily knocking his ball out.

Murphy then went after Raven, both colliding into a tackle. Murphy over powered her and kicked her ball out of the grid. Bellamy was already over on the other side of the grid, along with Jasper, Monty, Wells, and Harper.

Murphy turned to find Octavia dribbling on the other side of the grid. Clarke wasn’t far in front of her. He sprinted over, aiming for Octavia.

Octavia looked up, seeing Murphy coming for her. She froze in her spot, suddenly unsure what to do. Clarke, who was dribbling by her to help her out in the game, noticed and looked to where Murphy was charging at them.

On instinct, Clarke dribbled back and shielded Octavia from Murphy as he reached them. His foot came in contact with Clarke’s ball, not Octavia’s. As he was knocking her ball out, Clarke kicked Octavia’s ball towards the end of the grid. She yelled at her, “Go!”

Octavia took off and gathered her ball, crossing the line into the sideline.

Abby watched the scene with a sense of astonishment. Almost always at their old practices, Clarke was always first over the line and concerned for only herself. She never wanted to be a shark, at least Abby never had her be the shark after she won. If Clarke was a forward, there wasn’t a need for her to be the shark.

“Clarke Griffin sacrificing herself to be a shark?” Murphy voice, surprise lacing his voice, “I never thought I’d see the day.”

She shrugged and grabbed a penny from the pile. She put it on, telling him, “I’ve always wanted to try it. Plus, a real teammate takes one for the team.” At the last sentence, she looked to Octavia who was smiling and talking excitedly to Raven about the game.

 “Whatever,” Murphy responded, “Save the leader bullshit talk for Bellamy or someone else.”

“MURPHY!” The two heard Abby yell. They looked to where Coach Griffin was standing, arms crossed. “Watch your mouth!”

Murphy couldn’t care less and you could tell by his face. He didn’t bother responding but looked to Clarke, telling her, “Your mother is a damn hypocrite.”

Clarke laughed a little as Abby started the next round. The minnows charged forward again as the four sharks tried to eliminate them. Clarke got Monty out easily, Harper followed shortly behind by Raven when she paused to see if Monty was okay.

Bellamy, Wells, and Jasper made it over once again. Octavia snuck her way over the other line, no one paying attention to her. The two grabbed pennies of their own, _real_ pennies. Abby relished in the fact she had better pennies than Marcus. She had an upper hand on him finally.

“This isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Marcus suddenly commented beside her. She looked to him, a smug smile appearing on her lips. He looked back to her and shook his head, adding, “Don’t be fooled. It still has many flaws, like I expected.”

Her smile dropped in an instant. Flaws? It was a game! There were no flaws! “Flaws?” She asked. “What flaws could possibly exist in a game?”

“Plenty,” he stated. “For one, the sharks only seem to be concerned with getting any ball they can. That doesn’t teach proper defense. It’s not organized at all.”

Abby’s mouth dropped open. She had heard the rumors of Marcus killing the fun in everything, making practices like a drill squad for the army, but she didn’t know it was _this_ bad.

He stroked his chin, watching as the three remaining minnows dribbled forward. Bellamy seemed to be avoiding Clarke as he went towards Miller again. He easily beat him and made it over the line once again as no one was behind him to help.

Jasper was corned by Monty and Harper, his ball colliding with the two defenders as he lost control of the ball. It rolled out of bounds.

Wells got stuck in a 1v1 with Murphy. Murphy tilted his head to the side, telling him, “You’re a goalkeeper, do you really think you stand a chance?”

“I can try,” Wells responded, his voice shaking a bit.

“Yeah,” Murphy laughed, “Try and fail.”

Murphy charged forward and Wells cracked under the pressure, not moving. Murphy easily kicked his ball to the side and out of bounds. Murphy laughed again and told his brother, “Stick to standing in goal.”

Octavia was dribbling when Clarke ran in front of her. Octavia froze in place when she saw Clarke in front of her.

Clarke smiled at her and said, “Trust yourself, just go for it.”

Octavia nodded and ran forward with the ball. Clarke got in her defensive stance and went to tackle Octavia when the time was right. Clarke came in contact with the ball, stealing it from Octavia. She kicked it out of the grid.

Octavia looked upset as she watched her ball roll out of the grid. Clarke came over to her and offered her a penny. She told her as she watched Octavia put it on, “Maybe next time. That just wasn’t the right time.”

Octavia fixed her penny once it was on and looked up to Clarke. She smiled big and said, “Next time!”

Bellamy was the only one left, declaring him the winner, but he went forward anyways. He went up to Miller again, easily pulling the ball from him and charging forward. This time, however, Clarke had dropped in behind Miller, giving him coverage.

Abby and Marcus watched as Bellamy abruptly stopped when he saw Clarke there. Abby’s mind went back to their first practice where Marcus had the kids doing the three box drill with one defender in each. Bellamy had gotten past Clarke his first trial, but it wasn’t easy. After that, no one (including Bellamy) passed her box.

Clarke’s eyes were surveying Bellamy and the area around her. She was calculating her decisions and assessing the environment for additional indirect help. They were closer to the side of the grid on her right side. She turned her body so she would be forcing him to dribble into smaller space towards the sideline.

Bellamy didn’t bother assessing his space. He saw the line behind Clarke, the goal, and he knew he just had to make it there, no matter what. With that in his mind, he took off barreling towards Clarke. He would get around her, one way or another.

Abby and Marcus watched as the two clashed together in a tackle. Clarke stayed firm on her feet, hands on Bellamy’s back to keep him from pushing his momentum forward. Bellamy had his body angled slightly so he could put forth more strength into the tackle.

There was a problem with his stance though. Clarke was always surveying the tackle and noticed his back leg was wider than it should be. It also wasn’t supporting any weight of the tackle. Clarke stepped back a bit from the tackle and Bellamy stumbled from the sudden loss of contact, loosening the ball from his foot.

Clarke reached around as best as she could, foot poking out and kicking the ball free. It slowly rolled out of bounds.

Bellamy watched the ball in a bit of disbelief, as well as his father did. Abby screamed, throwing her arms up in the air to celebrate. Was that a bit childish? Abby didn’t give a shit if it was or not. A Lifesaver had just taken down the best player on the Assassins. It was one for the history books in her opinion.

Marcus nodded his approval, telling Abby, “See that? That’s what I mean. Before, Miller had no support to help when Bellamy beat him the first time. This time, they had to work together by providing coverage for each other.”

And Marcus officially killed the vibe.

“It’s a game, Marcus,” she told him. She shook her head, “They’re not supposed to think about tactics for the game. They’re supposed to have _fun_.”

“You can have fun while learning the tactics,” he shot back. He actually sounded offended. “Then we know we aren’t wasting any time and that we’re using all the time we have to the best of our ability.”

Vibe killed, again. Twice. In less than five minutes. Abby wondered if it was a new record.

“Playing a silly game for ten minutes won’t waste any precious time,” she replied.

“Actually,” he told her, “it will. Or did you forget the bet with Cage already?”

How could she forget? That night wasn’t something you’d forget easily and Abby wasn’t just talking about the cranberry juice all over Cage’s white suit.

The two actually had to pull off a movie or novel miracle with their team. They needed a lucky break because they both knew their teams couldn’t do it on their own. Unless the two found common ground, which was unlikely, winning didn’t seem to be in the near future.

It was a good thing they could lose two more games before they got their shit together.

“Of course I haven’t forgotten,” she shot back, a little annoyed. “All I’m saying is that winning is nice, sure, and yes we need to win to keep our jobs essentially, but a key component of that is having fun. If the kids aren’t enjoying themselves, why bother trying at all?”

Marcus took the question in and didn’t disagree completely. He believed the kids should enjoy the sport but he also believed that winning brought that to them. And to win, they needed to focus and work hard. There wasn’t time to goof off when they had a lot of work to do.

He shrugged telling her, “And winning can bring them that joy.” His eyes travelled to where Octavia stood with Clarke and Raven. She was smiling big as Clarke showed her the nutmeg, demonstrating on Raven. She passed the ball through her legs and ran around Raven to get the ball back. “Trust me on that,” he finished as he looked to her.

“They can have fun without winning, Marcus,” she tried to reason with him. “See with Octavia? She didn’t smile at _all_ the first practice we had or the following one. She just lost, to Clarke specifically, but she’s smiling and enjoying herself.”

Marcus saw that. He saw her laughing as Raven tried to do the same to Clarke but Clarke easily defended it. She never laughed at his practices before with the Assassins. But Abby was wrong. She may have lost to Clarke in her 1v1, but then she joined Clarke’s team in the drill in result of that. After that, Clarke won for the whole team, meaning Octavia had won in the end. She was happy because of that.

He shook his head. “You don’t understand it,” was all he said.

“Oh?” She questioned. He looked to her, seeing the anger burn in her eyes. “Or do you mean to say I _can’t_ understand? Because I’ve never won a game?”

He didn’t mean for it to come off like that, but he saw where she made the connection. If he was being honest with himself, she wasn’t that far off the accusation. Abby _didn’t_ know the feeling that winning brought, he did. He saw the happiness it brought his team.

Instead of trying to explain it all, he just shrugged, replying, “If the shoe fits…”

She shook her head, her anger apparent. She crossed her arms, looking back to the kids. “You still think you’re a better coach than me,” she said.

He looked down to her as she looked to him out of the corner of her eye. “I never said that,” he told her.

“You didn’t have to say it, Marcus,” she spoke, a bitter note in her tone. She could feel herself getting upset. She hated he could make her feel like this. “I can take a hint, believe it or not.”

“Abby-”

“Don’t,” she shook her head. “ _Don’t_ try to make up some bullshit to make up for it. I know I suck as a coach, Marcus.” It hurt for her to say the words, to admit them to him after years of arguing against it. But like she said, if they wanted to get anywhere, they had to find common ground. If he was going to be a stubborn ass, maybe her starting the change would encourage him to as well.

“The standings prove that enough,” she shook her head. “I get my ass kicked by you, another terrible team. Now, I have a chance to turn that around but it’s not going to happen unless we somehow, by a miracle, put our differences aside and work together.”

Marcus knew she was right. He didn’t want to admit that though. He had his beliefs on how to run the team and had proof to back up that they worked. Did they work fantastic? Hell no, his own past records have shown that, but they were results. It was a start. If they worked on his tactics and the kids worked harder, then their record would improve.

What bugged him was that Abby was making it seem like her only problem was that she was a terrible coach. When she wasn’t wrong in his opinion, there were many things her coaching tactics could use work on, she herself doesn’t realize her biggest flaw.

While she admitted to being a bad coach, she didn’t do anything to change it. She kept using the same tactics over and over again. She didn’t change up positions of any players or try a new formation. She saw what she brought forward as the only way to do things. If you ever brought up a different way than hers to approach something, you were labeled the bad guy.

Marcus found himself looking to where Clarke now stood with Bellamy. The two were chatting as Clarke showed him her defensive stance. Bellamy copied it and Clarke showed her foot poke. Bellamy again copied it.

That’s why the two clashed mainly. Marcus liked control as much as did Abby. Marcus had his rigid view of working hard and serious would get the wins they needed to enjoy the game. Abby had her rigid view of making sure to have fun along the way, win or lose, and that there was a set way to get there.

Marcus decided to test the theory by nodding and asking, “Fine. My first suggestion as a newly joined unit is why don’t we move Clarke to defense?”

Abby didn’t even have to respond for Marcus to see he was right. Abby got defensive herself and tilted her head to the side. “Why?” She asked. “So Bellamy can get all the credit?”

“No-”

“Clarke plays forward,” Abby interrupted him, looking to where her daughter was chatting with Bellamy still.

“Come on, Abby,” Marcus told her. “You saw how good Clarke was at defense last week and in this,” he moved his hands at the grid, “whatever you call it.”

“Clarke is a leader,” Abby stated. “Leaders are needed in the front.”

“Defense is also a big position for leaders.”

“Clarke,” Abby spoke every syllable with emphasis, “plays forward. That’s where she’s always played and that’s where she’ll continue to play.”

Marcus watched her. He always knew Abby was stubborn. He didn’t know she was _this_ stubborn when it came to her views on her team. He understood she didn’t have much time with her day job at the hospital to sit down and formulate new game plans. He understood change can be scary, but like she told Cage the other day, change is inevitable. However, he didn’t agree that there was only one way to tackle a situation on the field, there has to be another way if the current one isn’t working. He understood changing her tactics meant admitting that she wasn’t a good coach but it needed to happen if the team wanted to get better.

Abby watched Marcus with fire in her eyes. Abby knew what was best for her team, she always had. She just knew they needed to work a little harder with her tactics and then results would come. She understood he wanted control over everything, it’s how he coached. She understood his tactics had given him a result and only _one_ in case he forgot. However, she didn’t agree with erasing the main component of the reason they’re here: to have fun and enjoy the game they love. Abby understood that him having to give up his tight control on the seriousness of practice for the kids to enjoy the process was admitting he was too controlling and harsh as a coach but it needed to happen if the team wanted to get better.

The two stayed silent as they watched each other. Understanding, passion, anger, resentment, and everything else passed from and to each other in that moment. It scared them. Neither knew what it meant.

To break it, Abby joked, “You sure you can’t feel the hair gel pulling your hair back too tightly?”

Marcus was thankful for the banter to be back. It seemed like before in that moment he was out of breath. He smirked, telling her, “I’m not sure. Could you check for me?”

Abby smirked back, hearing the hidden want lacing his voice. He _wanted_ her to run her hand through his hair. “If I remember after practice, I will,” she answered him, not breaking eye contact.

Marcus felt the air crackle with the tension between him. He saw the challenge in her eyes, which he was sure reflected in his own. Abby was playing with fire.

The image of her in his bathroom at the beginning of the year party flashed in his mind. She had grabbed his razor and snuck it in her pocket. He didn’t want to call her out when he had caught her in her obvious lie about the aspirin, as he had no idea _why_ she was stealing his razor. He knew now.

She was trying to throw him off his game.

He thought of all the endless comments on his hair and his shaving habits. He thought of all the times he caught her staring at his hair. He liked to be clean cut for his lawyer job, was that a crime? To her it was.

He remembered her reaction when he didn’t use his hair gel the night of the party. She never did up denying that she liked it. It wouldn’t have mattered if she did, he saw the approval in her eyes and body language. He didn’t understand the shaving comments as much as the hair though.

He remembered her reaction when he placed his hand on her hip to move her away from the drawer that contained the aspirin. He remembered seeing her flustered. He remembered feeling _want_ spread through him at the touch.

The tension between held some sort of attraction. Neither really knew what it was but they were both good looking people who acknowledged that of each other. Marcus knew it felt good to feel her hand in his hair. He knew she knew that. He knew Abby loved the feeling of his hair between her fingers. He also knew she knew that. Whatever it was, it existed.

They both knew it. He figured she was trying to use this, whatever it was, to her advantage and throw him off track. If she could distract him, she could gain more control of the team and run it like how she wanted to. Marcus wasn’t foolish though.

If Abby wanted to play with fire, he wasn’t going to let her play alone. He was going to add fuel to the fire. Fire would meet gasoline.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he finally responded, wearing his signature smirk. He made sure his voice was rough on the edges as he drew the words out, never breaking eye contact.

Her own grew in response. She didn’t respond to him, realizing the same thing he had realized moments ago. So, that’s how things were going to go, huh? Now Abby had to be on top of her game, both on and off the field.

May the best coach win.


	9. Get knocked down, get back up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Indra to the rescue!!!!
> 
> Ps- this chapter is just shy of 8k words, your welcome pumpkins!!

Marcus was the first thing Abby noticed when she walked up the field.

 _Everything_ about him was different. Well, okay, not everything. He was still ungodly annoying and an asshole.

She meant appearance wise.

His hair wasn’t gelled back, it fell naturally like it did the night of the party. He also didn’t shave and the slightest stubble was beginning to show. In other words, he looked _good_.

He knew it too. He smirked that _annoying_ smirk when he caught her staring when she walked up with Clarke. She had no words when he told her, “Good evening, Griffin.”

The man left her a little breathless, wordless even. Her mind had flashed back to practice earlier that week when she had run her hand through his hair. What she would do to do that right now.

She finally found words as she asked, “Did you finally run out of hair gel?” She knew there had been more than half left so she doubted it. “I know there was a lot left, but God knows how much you use.”

He smirked in response as he grabbed his cones from his bag. “Actually,” he told her, “I saw that the product is actually bad for my hair. Decided to not use it anymore.”

 _Thank God!_ Abby wasn’t going to complain. That still left the mystery of the sudden hint of stubble however. “And the stubble?” She asked. “Did you find out shaving as much as you did was unhealthy for the ego?”

He shook his head as he counted off the cones. He set the extra down, looking to her as he stood up. “Funny story actually,” he replied. “I had a razor go missing the night of the party and had to use my back up. Then, that one went missing too.”

Abby had no idea what he was talking about. Not at all. She portrayed that on her face, saying, “That sucks.” _Not really._ “You must’ve had a heart attack.”

“Close to it,” he responded as he set their warm up grid. He absentmindedly stroked his jaw, feeling around it. Abby’s eyes were glued to his hand, watching and wondering what it felt like. She figured as good as it looked.

He caught her staring out of the corner of his eye and he smirked a little bit to himself. He looked to her, asking, “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Nope,” she answered a little too quickly. She grinned and shrugged, telling him, “Who knows? Whoever stole it, if someone did, might’ve done you a favor. A lot less stress now.”

He watched her, arms crossed with the cones in his hand still. He asked, “Does that mean you like it?”

“Hell no,” she lied. She _loved_ it. All she wanted to do was run her hand along his jaw to feel it. She wanted to feel it under her hand. And who knows, maybe other areas too. “You look like a caveman.”

He laughed and it sounded heavenly to her. When it wasn’t directed _at_ her, she enjoyed it. “Looks like I’ll have to keep it then,” he teased as he went back to setting the grid up.

“What a pity,” she commented, but inside she was screaming for joy like a kid on Christmas morning. The only pity was her having to lie about it. And, of course, not being able to touch it.

Abby diverted her attention to her equipment bag, digging out five blue pennies. Real pennies, thank you. Marcus’ penny bag wasn’t anywhere in sight and Abby _might_ have had something to do with that.

Marcus finished his grid as came back to her. He grabbed her pennies from her commenting, “I couldn’t find my penny bag this morning.” _What a pity_. “It’s a good thing you brought yours.”

“Not like we would’ve missed your ‘pennies’,” she replied, using air quotes.

He rolled his eyes and he began handing them to the kids. He told her, “It was by my other stuff the night before but when I went to pack the car, it was gone. I couldn’t find it anywhere in the house.”

Abby side eyed where Octavia was putting her own penny on. She looked back to Marcus saying, “Weird. You sure you didn’t forget them last practice?”

He looked over to her, eyes examining her for a few seconds. It wasn’t a typical Abby response. She usually would’ve made a remark how he probably forgot it on the top of his car and drove off. Abby panicked that she had been caught, but she _was_ innocent. She didn’t touch his bag. “I’m positive,” he told her. He turned away once again, getting a ball sent into their possession grid.

Her eyes wandered to Octavia again. Abby wasn’t lying, she didn’t touch his bag. Octavia did. Abby’s only involvement was telling Octavia to do it.

Abby had thought the idea of never having to wear those “pennies” again would be enough motivation for her to do it, but apparently Octavia wanted something in return. And when she had listed her terms, Abby was confused.

Why did she want her to compliment Marcus’ hair? Abby was pretty sure Marcus didn’t care about Abby’s opinion on his hair.

Octavia told her it was because he always used the hair gel and he’s unsure about his hair now. Apparently, he had asked her and Bellamy if his hair looked okay the night of the party without it. It was intriguing to say the least.

So Abby agreed. Anything to get rid of those “pennies”. They now sit in a place Octavia described as “a place I told Marcus not to touch”.  Abby was pretty sure that meant the “girl’s” section of the bathroom.

The kids were well into their warm up of possession as Abby went to stand by Marcus at the edge of the grid. He was watching them intently. She side eyed him, her eyes wandering over to his hair.

It looked incredibly soft, something she would’ve never guessed before with the gel in it. She remembered the surprise she felt when she ran her hand through it last week. It flowed nicely and naturally like he had combed it back slightly. It curled the slightest as it ended and rested at the back of his neck. Abby could see herself burying her hand in the one spot, feeling the strands fall through her fingers.

The one curl on his forehead stuck out again. He would shake his head, trying to keep his hair out of his eyes but the one curl would fall back into its same place. It was defiant, sort of like her.

“I know I give you a lot of shit about the hair gel,” she started to tell him. He looked to her out of the corner of his eye. She shrugged, finishing, “But it looks good without it.”

His eyes widened a bit with the initial statement. Then, almost instantly, they narrowed. He turned to face her, forgetting about the warm up completely. He accused her, “Is that sarcastic?”

Abby didn’t blame him for the accusation. She _did_ spend five years making fun of his hair. It wasn’t like she was saying it out of her own free fill will, even though there was truth to it. If Octavia didn’t stress that this was her “final terms or no deal”, Abby would’ve taken the compliment to the grave.

Still, she crossed her arms, annoyed. “No,” she replied, “I mean it.”

He raised an eyebrow at the response, examining her, looking for any trace that may show she was lying. He couldn’t find any. He let his uncertainty show through his voice as he said, “Thank you.”

She rolled her eyes. It was such a Marcus thing to do, to not accept a compliment.

Both turned their attention to warm ups. Raven had dived in for another tackle, Bellamy easily getting around her. He ignored his sister, Octavia, who was wide open for a pass and dribbled more. He lost the ball when Clarke tackled him, quickly passing it off into space for Jasper to run onto it.

“Damn it,” Marcus whispered to himself. He shook his head, yelling, “You have to pass the ball Bell! You have teammates for a reason! Octavia, don’t be afraid to call for it!”

Jasper was running all the grid with the ball but finally passed it to Monty who played it right back to Jasper in a give-and-go around Harper. Jasper exploded into open space in the grid. Abby and Marcus watched the scene in shock.

That was soccer, like, _real_ soccer.

Abby and Marcus looked at each for a split second, the astonishment written across their faces. Abby had never seen Jasper pass a ball to someone so perfectly before. It was to Monty’s feet and was played with the right pace. He even made a run that made sense. He just didn’t take off into random space like he usually did.

Marcus had never seen Monty do anything with a bit of confidence. However, he knew what he was doing when Jasper played him the ball. He knew where Jasper was going to run. He knew where to play the ball. He knew how hard to kick the ball. He did it without Marcus having to guide him through it.

But, immediately when Monty wasn’t the play anymore, Jasper lost control of the ball. He tried to play Miller. It went completely wide of him and Miller didn’t try for it, giving Jasper a look of “Are you shitting me?” while he crossed his arms.

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

The ball had rolled out of the grid so now Bellamy’s team had the ball. Bellamy grabbed the ball and passed it into Wells. Wells took a bad first touch, the ball immediately ricocheting off his foot and to where Clarke was beginning to apply pressure. She easily trapped the ball while checking her shoulder and turned efficiently into open space.

Murphy snorted beside Wells. The boy looked to his brother who was smirking and shaking his head. Murphy told him, “Stick to the goal.”

Clarke went to pass to Monty but Harper was distracting him, who was hovering around her area. The ball went right by him as she was telling him, “That was a nice combo you had with Jasper earlier.”

The ball rolled its way to Octavia who hadn’t left her position in one corner of the grid. She looked up as it stopped at her feet. She saw Raven running towards her and she instantly froze. She didn’t know what to do.

Her eyes looked around the grid frantically, hoping a teammate would come help. Clarke was blocking off Bellamy, Wells looked like unconfident and didn’t try to open up for her, and Harper was too busy talking with Monty to notice the ball.

She looked back to Clarke, who smiled at her. She nodded to the ball and Octavia got the message. She looked back to Raven, who was almost near her for a tackle. Octavia took a shaky breath and pushed the ball forward to beat Raven as she closed in for the tackle.

Marcus held his breath for a moment. It was the first time he had seen Octavia actively go with the ball with a little confidence. He watched anxiously as the ball rolled forward and towards Raven.

The two clashed, Raven swinging her leg out in a desperate attempt to win the ball. This time, Raven won. The ball flew out of bounds at Abby. She had to duck to not get hit in the head.

She heard a small chuckle beside her. She stood up in an instant, glowering at the man next to her who was failing to keep a straight face and had to resort to putting his hand over his mouth.

“Ha ha ha,” she told him. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, crossing her arms and told him, “You wait. Your time will come.”

“Didn’t it already?” She knew exactly what he was going to say. “I mean, I got stuck coaching with _you._ ” There it was.

She shrugged and tilted her head. “I don’t know, Kane,” she retorted, “It may be the best thing that’ll have happened to you.”

He snorted another laugh into his hand and she reached out and slapped his arm. She shook her head, not completely annoyed at him like she usually was. “Mark my words,” she told him. “When the Delinquents win the championship, it’ll be because of me.”

“Oh, I’m _sure_ that’s why Ms. Last Place,” he responded, a flat tone lacing his voice.

She hit him again and was going to reply when suddenly another ball flew out of the grid and hit him. Right in the stomach. _Hard_.

The grid that was loud with chatter fell silent. Abby’s mouth dropped open in shock. Their parents fell silent on the sideline besides Cece whispering, “Holy shit.”

Marcus had doubled over, clutching his stomach. He had gotten the air knocked out of him. His face was red as he tried to breathe in air. He looked up, eyes wide and made eye contact with Abby.

Abby tried. She really tried. _Really_ hard. She failed.

Abby burst into laughter after a few seconds of eye contact. It was _loud_ and obnoxious. She didn’t care, she was _living_ for this. Marcus would live, she’s sure he’s been through worse. His reaction and face contorted in pain made it seem like he had been shot, which made it funnier.

Soon, laughter from the kids followed. Fire had erupted in his eyes at her. It made her laugh harder.

She patted his shoulder and whispered into his ear as he started getting his breath back, “Karma’s a bitch.”

And it was. She laughed again when he glared up to her from his hunched over position. She walked away from him as he went over to the bench to sit down. Jackson was immediately by his side. Good ol’ Jackson.

Abby passed the ball into the grid for them to continue. The same issues she had witnessed minutes before were repeated over and over again. Raven diving in, Bellamy being a ball hog, Miller not trying, Harper not paying attention, Monty cowering away from the ball, Jasper being too rowdy, Murphy beating down Wells, and Octavia having no confidence.

Abby noticed they kept being repeated and she felt a pit in her stomach. Why hadn’t she noticed this earlier? Or Marcus for that matter? One of them should have noticed the flaws. Then, practice would’ve been focused on fixing these mistakes.

Abby looked over to where Marcus was. He looked like he had gathered himself and was taking another minute to collect himself. Had she been too focused on him to notice the flaws? Was it the same for him? Had he been too focused on her to catch their flaws?

They were so busy in finding the flaws in each other’s coaching style to notice where they needed to improve the team itself. Sure, coaching is a key part of the game. If it’s not perfect, then you can’t expect a team to execute what you tell them.

But the coaching could be perfect and it wouldn’t matter if you didn’t have the right team to execute it. Anyone could strap on shin guards and cleats and call themselves a soccer player, let alone gather a few friends and call it a team. A real team notices its flaws and works to fix them. They aim to improve every day.

That can be by practicing one thing over and over until you get it right, run for punishment and learn to not do the mistake again, give and receive words of encouragement to help teammates, or take risks and learn from mistakes or correct decisions. It all added up in the end to becoming the team you wanted to be.

Abby and Marcus were too focused on each other’s flaws to notice the kids needed all the above to be the team they wanted to be. If it was a team that lost every game, but played with effort and had fun, they would have to work to get there. If it was a team that made it to the championship and upset Mount Weather by winning the league title, then a lot of work on both ends needed to be done.

Abby’s eyes wandered to where their opponent, Ice Nation, was warming up on their half. She saw the crisp passes between the players. She saw efficient tackles made, players waiting for the right moment to tackle. She saw smart runs being made at the right time and to the right place. She saw their goalie make a diving save off a nice slotted shot to the far post.

Abby turned her eyes back to her grid where the kids had stopped doing their warm up. Bellamy and Clarke were talking as they stretched. Murphy was shooting the ball at Wells and laughed every time Wells missed it. Miller stood off to the side of the net shaking his head. Jasper was laying in the grass as he watched the clouds. Harper was sitting by him with Monty as she chatted his ear off. Octavia and Raven were sneaking off the field with handfuls of grass towards Jaha, who was too zoned out on his phone.

They were screwed. Alie blew the whistle, signaling that the game was going to start soon.

They needed that lucky break. They _really_ needed.

Or, like she said, they were screwed.

+

They were screwed.

The final whistle of the game blew. You could guess it, _another_ loss.

The Delinquents just lost to Ice Nation 0-9. That’s two losses right of the bat. They only had room for one more loss in the entire season and they still had five games left.

Abby was _steaming_. It was radiating off her in waves.

After that last practice, Abby had tried to confront Marcus about a formation change. They had practiced the formation of 3-2-2 again during practice. She offered her formation of a 3-3-1 (three defenders, three midfielders, and one forward). Marcus had shot it down by saying, “And how many wins did that produce for you? Let alone goals.”

Abby’s anger from that conversation carried over into the weekend, their second game. Marcus was again keen on keeping the 3-2-2 but kept pushing Abby to let Clarke try defense. Abby absolutely refused. Tensions were high on the bench the whole game between them.

They shook hands with the opposing team and walked over to their respective bench. Abby could feel herself itching for an argument. She wasn’t going to let Marcus walk away this time without hearing her side.

“Marcus,” she sternly called him as they reached the bench.

He was putting his board in his bag and grabbed his cones. “Hm?”

“We need to try a 3-3-1.”

She didn’t have to see his face to know he had closed his eyes in irritation. He did it at practice when she brought up the same thing. He slowly went back to packing his bag up and told her, “We already talked about this.”

“And I didn’t appreciate your answer,” she snapped back. Marcus noticed the bitter note in her tone.

He finished packing his bag and zipped it up. He put it on one shoulder and turned to look at her. He told her flatly, “Truth hurts.”

Something snapped in her. It just _snapped_. Whatever it was that had been holding her back since the merge finally snapped and let her free.

He had tried walking away but she grabbed him by his jacket sleeve. She hissed, venom dripping in every word, “And how about yours? It hasn’t produced shit either.”

He looked over his shoulder to her, a dangerous glint sparkling in his eyes. He ripped his arm free from her, telling her, “Unlike _yours_ ,” the word was spoken with much distaste, “it _has_ produced something.”

“Yeah it _did_ ,” she agreed, crossing her arms, “against a team that is now merged with yours. _Only_ then. Now? Its’ failing.”

“Maybe because it’s your team that’s screwing it up.”

That was a low blow. They both knew it. It ignited the fire in her more. She decided to ignore the jab and repeated, “We need to try a 3-3-1.”

He repeated his reason, “Your formation has never won a game.”

She shot back, sick of the excuse, “And yours has gotten us killed the last two. Unless you forgot, we can only lose one more game or we lose the deal with Cage.”

“Of course I haven’t forgotten,” he shot back, his own anger rising. “That’s why at practice this week we aren’t doing your stupid little games. We’re going to have a serious practice on our formation. No jokes, no goofing off, no sharks and minnows.”

That annoyed Abby even more. If the kids didn’t enjoy just a _little_ then they wouldn’t put forth much effort into the drill. That was an argument for another time. “So, the 3-3-1?” She asked, pushing it.

He closed his eyes again and ran a hand through his hair. He slowly inhaled and exhaled, calming himself down. It didn’t work very well. He opened his eyes and made eye contact with her. “No.”

She threw her hands in the air, “Why _not?!_ ”

“You know why! It doesn’t work!”

“You’ve never tried it!”

They fell silent for a few. The parents and kids were watching them. Neither of them noticed. They were too focused on each other to notice. The rest of the world was nonexistent.

“I’ve seen it fail enough, every time mind you, to know it doesn’t,” he said in a low voice. It still contained all the anger when he yelled but this time seemed more threatening.

She tilted her head to the side, telling him, “Don’t knock it till you try it.”

He face palmed and slowly ran the same hand down his face, exhaling a heavy breath. “ _Fine_ ,” he replied, “You want to do a 3-3-1? We’ll do it. And when we lose, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”

“We _won’t_ ,” she shot back, a triumph smirk making its way to her lips.

“ _But_ ,” _oh shit_ , “Clarke has to play defense,” Marcus added on.

He knew she hated that, probably just as much as he hated her formation. It boiled anger in her. He was doing it because he wouldn’t let her have any control with the team. Not even the simple formation change.

“Clarke plays forward,” she responded in a bit tone.

“And how many goals does she have?” He asked. He didn’t want to drag Clarke into the conversation but he needed to shake some sense into Abby.

“Do not drag my daughter into this,” she shot back, her anger flashing white in her eyes. How dare he!

“You saw how good she is at defense, Abby,” he continued anyways. “Don’t be ignorant.”

“I am not ignorant!”

“Really?” He asked, snorting. He knew she was lying but Abby believed she wasn’t. “That box drill from our first practice? No one got by her except Bellamy and that was once.”

“It’s because of her knowledge of being a forward,” Abby immediately reasoned. “She knows all the tactics to try and beat a defender. Makes it easy for her to predict what’s coming.”

“Then explain why during your game, sharks and minnows,” he told her, “she voluntarily sacrificed herself for Octavia.”

“That’s what a true leader does!” She yelled, getting frustrated. She knew her daughter, why was he doubting that?

He tried reasoning with her slightly, lowering his voice, “And leaders can be defenders.”

She took steps until she was chest tight with him. She glared up to him, anger burning in her eyes. They were shining as well, tears glistening. “Clarke,” she hissed out, anger shaking her voice, “is a forward.”

“She can also be a defender,” he shot back.

“She wants to play forward!”

“Have you asked her?”

Abby fell silent as she felt her heart break a little bit. She was shaking as she replied, “How _dare_ you ask that. I know what _my_ daughter wants. How _dare_ you assume I don’t know my own daughter.”

He hated himself for saying it but she _didn’t_ know her daughter if that was her answer. He hated himself even more when he asked, “Do you really?”

Abby snapped and lunged at him. Luckily, Cece was right there and latched onto Abby before she could jump on Marcus. “Hey!” Cece yelled, “Abby! Calm down! I’m the only one allowed to fight!”

“Just one hit,” she yelled. “I’ll wipe that fucking smirk right off his face and _maybe_ he’ll finally listen.” She fought against Cece, her mind racing. There was one goal on it and that was to make Marcus pay for what he had said.

He was watching her, seeing a tear escape her eye as she struggled against Cece. He hadn’t wanted to push that case but Abby needed to see the truth. He had tried at practice earlier as a joke but she threw up a guard almost instantly. He would have liked for that conversation to go better but it was out there now. He just hoped Abby would see he didn’t want to insult her or Clarke. He just wanted to help them both and the team in the end.

His own blood was stilling boiling mixed in with the regret he felt. She had come at him and started the argument. She came after his formation, one that actually won before, and bashed on his coaching with it. He knew what he was doing. He didn’t need her interventions of making sure the kids were having fun when there was no room for it. They needed to be serious if they wanted to win their next games. They _needed_ to win.

He would be damned if they lost their jobs because Abby wanted to make sure Clarke and the others were happy because of sharks and minnows. There would be no more shark and minnows if they didn’t take things seriously and improve and win games. It would be over.

“Seems like you two still can’t hold an adult conversation,” a voice suddenly spoke behind him. “Makes it difficult to know who the kids are.”

At first, he thought Jaha was making a smart remark but the voice wasn’t his. It was familiar though, one he hadn’t heard in a while. He turned around to see Indra standing there, shaking her head as she watched Abby.

“Would you believe it’s our real first argument this season?” He joked, asking as he walked up to her.

She offered him a smile, seeing through his bullshit and told him, “Who do you take me for, Marcus? Cage?”

He laughed as he shook Indra’s hand and pulled her in for a small hug. His mind was still racing and his blood was still boiling, but seeing Indra had calmed him the slightest bit.

After the hug, Indra nodded towards where the concessions area was. She told Marcus, “Once she calms down, both of you are meeting me at the picnic table by the tree.”

Marcus frowned as he looked to where Abby was not fighting Cece anymore but still emotional. She was fidgeting with her hands as Cece and Jackson talked to her. Marcus looked back to Indra, asking, “Are we being lectured?”

“You need it,” she flat out told him. “What you two did right there? That was embarrassing.”

“She started it!” He retorted. He knew how childish it sounded and the reaction on Indra’s face confirmed that.

“And for that response,” she said as she began to walk away, “is exactly why you need an adult to lecture you two.”

He was left behind, mouth open as he tried to sputter a response. She was out of earshot now.

He was an adult! He handled it well, he told her the truth. He told her the facts. Abby was the one who lunged at him. Hell, she _was_ the one who confronted him in front of the kids and their parents.

Then he looked around. Cece and Jackson were still with Abby. Roan was watching them with a bit of concern. Sinclair and David Miller were going around to the kids, who were engrossed with the scene before them, offering them juice pouches. Even Jaha had his two boys held back from the scene, watching Marcus and Abby with disappointment. Then he saw their kids.

Bellamy and Octavia stood by the bench, both looking scared and confused. Bellamy had his arm wrapped around Octavia, holding her close as she cuddled into his side. Clarke stood beside them as well, watching her mom with concern. Octavia had her hand held out for Clarke and Clarke was tightly holding it.

The scene broke Marcus’ heart. Abby and he were so wrapped up in each other, they didn’t see the effect their bickering was doing to others around them. His eyes wandered to where Indra sat at the picnic table, waiting. Maybe they needed that lecture.

He slowly made his way to where Abby was with Cece and Jackson. Jackson noticed him first, the girls’ backs to him, and said, “Uh… I’m not sure this is a good idea…”

Abby turned around and locked eyes with Marcus. He could feel the anger in the air, rolling off her in waves. He could read the anger in her eyes, like a storm brewing over the ocean. She didn’t have to speak for Marcus to feel her words. He understood without words.

He ignored Jackson and told Abby, “Indra would like to talk to us.” He nodded to where she was waiting.

Abby looked over to her and then back to him. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

He felt his lip twitch the slightest. It was a little snarky. It was Abby.

“Unfortunately,” he told her, “we don’t.”

“Hm,” Abby replied as she flipped her hair back over her shoulder. She shot back at him, “Maybe she’ll convince you to do the 3-3-1.”

She didn’t wait for a response and stormed by, making sure to hit his arm with hers as she did. He pointedly ignored the jolt that surged throughout his arm at their contact. He ignored how it was the same feeling he felt in his bathroom that night of the party.

Marcus turned and followed her. He gestured for Bellamy and Octavia to follow. They slowly did, right beside their father. Bellamy asked, “What’s going on?”

“Abby and I are going to talk with Indra for a while,” he told him. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He handed them a ten dollar bill and added, “Buy whatever you want, but remember we haven’t had dinner yet.”

The two nodded and ran off to the concessions as Marcus continued his way to Indra. Clarke was already the concessions with her own money Abby had given her. Abby was sitting beside Indra, so Marcus took the seat across the two.

It was silent. No one spoke. Abby was too busy glaring at Marcus and Marcus was too busy watching her do it. Indra looked in between the two.

Finally, annoyed, she sighed. The two looked to her and she said, “Really guys? Five years, and this is _still_ going on?”

Neither of them answered but looked at each other. Indra continued, “I get a rivalry, the Grounders had one with Ice Nation. Nia and I had a good rivalry but we never let it get in our personal life.”

“Personal life?” They both asked in unison. Both got annoyed at it.

“Yes,” Indra answered, “there’s no more Lifesavers and there’s no more Assassins. The two teams are gone. You now have the Delinquents. There’s no more rivalry.”

The two knew she wasn’t wrong. They weren’t versing each other anymore in the standings. There was no way to.

Indra shook her head. “You two are fighting it out when you’re on the same team now. But what are you fighting about? You can’t out do the other. Where ever you place in the standings is where you _both_ place in the standings. There’s no more Marcus finishing above Abby. There’s only where you place in the standings, _together_.”

They looked at each other, thinking it over. Both knew she was right but neither wanted to admit it. Each saw themselves superior to the other in one area. They still wanted that one up on each other and they figured having the best coaching strategy for the team would be the one up on the other.

That’s where Indra was wrong about them. They found a way to keep their rivalry alive.

“And don’t think I haven’t heard about your bet with Cage,” Indra told them, “I have.”

The two looked to her, both nervous to hear her comments on it. She shook her head and told them bluntly, “That was a stupid bet. Idiotic.”

They both winced visibly at her words. They both knew it was a long shot and one for the movies or novels. There was no way in real life would one of those miracles be pulled off.

“But the part I find most idiotic? You two,” she added on. The two looked at each other again. She continued talking, “You bet your positions as these kids’ coaches and you’re letting this need to fuel your rivalry take it away. You won’t lose the bet because your team sucks, you’ll lose it because you two can’t act like adults.”

The two stayed silent, the words sinking in. Indra was right. Abby had recognized the mistakes the kids were making earlier, mistakes they could work on and improve on. In the end, that would improve their team. What good would that be though if her and Marcus couldn’t get past their egos and truly come together for them?

Abby understood but felt like she had sacrificed a lot already for the team. She gave up her usual formation and warm up. Marcus hadn’t given up anything except his pennies, which wasn’t truly done on his part.

Abby kept her eyes on Marcus as she said, “It’s not my fault he can’t accept any help because he perceives it as a threat to his ego.”

Marcus’ eyes snapped onto hers. Angry began to rise in him. Help? All she did was needle him and beat down his ideas. She didn’t offer any help!

“My ego?” He asked, anger lacing his voice. “You’re one to talk. You won’t let your daughter try another position because you’re afraid you’ll be wrong.”

“You’re saying I don’t know my daughter when I do!” Anger was making its way back into her voice as well.

“You obviously don’t since you can’t see the little details telling you otherwise,” he shot back. He was treading on egg shells again and he could see the anger in Abby rising with every word he spoke. He added on, “You see your way as the only way. If yours isn’t working, then there has to be another way.”

“Oh,” she said with a laugh. It ignited a fire in him. “Says the one who won’t do a simple formation change.”

“It’s different,” he replied too quickly. He felt himself getting a bit insecure in that moment. His formation had proven to bring results, hers hadn’t.

“How so?” She pushed on.

“I know it works,” He said, tilting his chin up.

She laughed again and rolled her eyes, setting her chin in her hand as she propped herself up. “Here we go again,” she muttered more to herself.

Before Marcus could retort, Indra interrupted, “Do you see it? This is what I’m talking about.”

Both turned to look to her again. She shook her head, disappointment clear on her face. “You’re picking each other apart. Your coaching styles and whatever else. You still want that one point on each other. Here’s a wake up- if you lose two more games, you won’t have a chance to do _any_ new formations or new player positions. Why? Because you won’t be coaches anymore.”

Both fell more silent as the reality settled in them. She shook her head again. “This rivalry was fine when you had different teams but you don’t anymore. All it’s doing now is hurting your team. Do you really want to stop coaching?”

The two looked at each other for a few seconds before both said with a sad tone, “No.”

Indra nodded and said, “And do you really want to lose those kids?”

Each of the two looked to their respective kid, who were kicking around a ball with three other local kids. The three use to play with the Grounders before Indra’s team got folded. Indra added in, “Trust me, it’s not a good feeling.”

The two looked to her and she looked from the kids to them. She said, “I’m just going to state the obvious and you two can direct your anger at me instead of each other. I’m doing this so it gives the kids their best chance.”

The two nodded as Indra told them, “Abby, I know you have your set ways of doing things. I know you know Marcus has an advantage of coaching over you because has a win under his belt and you don’t. I know changing your ways to accommodate his into yours is admitting that, and you would never do that, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of. As I remember hearing at the party, you told a certain coach that change is inevitable. This is no different. It doesn’t mean your weak as a coach, it just means you’re willing to do what’s best for your team.”

Abby was looking at her hands the whole time Indra spoke. She only gave her a small nod in response. Abby knew every word Indra spoke was true. She hated admitting it and Indra was spot on saying that.

Indra looked to Marcus and told him, “And you Marcus, you’re the same way. You know you have that up on her and use it against her to get your way, like the formation. But like Abby said, it’s not working. You don’t want to change it because you feel you know better because you have the one win under your belt. It’s just one win, Marcus. It never worked against the teams you’re playing now. Why not try a new one? You never know. If it doesn’t work, try another. You want her to change to your ways because you feel you know what’s best when in fact, only both of you together know what’s best for the team.”

Marcus looked down to his own hands after she was done talking. He couldn’t argue a single word she said. He knew what he was doing when he turned down her formation or drill ideas for practice. He thought they were a waste of time because she didn’t produce results to prove they were worthy of his time.

“And for the love of God, Marcus,” Indra added in, making him look back up to her, “don’t forget that this is a _rec_ league. That means recreational aka not premiere or the national league. You can do a fun drill once in a while. Nothing is wrong with that. You know who you sound like when you do shit like that?”

Marcus knew and dreaded the answer before Indra told him. “Cage.” His heart sank. He wanted to shout she was wrong but he couldn’t find it in his heart to. He knew she was right. While all the time he spent fighting with Abby, he also had been taking pages from Cage’s practice book to try and make his team better. He had even asked Cage for advice before.

“You both have stuff to work on,” Indra told them, “but that doesn’t mean you can’t work together now and fix it along the way. That’s what practice is for, remember? Helping each other is key. You’re going to fight along the way, that’s unavoidable with you two to be honest, but it doesn’t have to be this rivalry anymore.”

Abby looked up to Marcus then and Marcus looked to her. They both knew Indra was right. Everything she said was true. They kept the rivalry up on their own, they went in search for a fight. They would bicker with each other, that was just in nature with their personalities but there was no reason for a rivalry anymore.

Marcus shook his head and told Abby, “I’m sorry.”

Abby looked a bit shocked and asked, “You’re sorry?”

He nodded and told her, “For what I said about Clarke. If anyone knows her best, it’s you, her mom. I would feel the same way if someone told me that about Bellamy or Octavia.”

She smiled a bit and replied, “Well, I do _know_ what’s best.”

That was the Abby he knew and he smirked back. The tension between the two started to fade slightly as whatever it was started to make its way back to them. An understanding mixed with other emotions.

Indra smiled at the two. “Not a complete apology, but I’ll take what I can get. Glad I won’t have to look forward to peeling your dead body off the parking lot, Marcus.”

“Wait,” Marcus said mortified, “looking forward to?”

Both Indra and Abby burst into laughter as Marcus smiled. All the adults then turned to look at the six kids playing around. Abby and Marcus were in awe at the juggling circle the three old Grounders players were doing.

They were hitting it back and forth between the three of them, heading it to each other, and trapping it on top of their foot. Abby and Marcus had never seen any player, even those on Mount Weather, do tricks like that.

They heard Indra sigh as she watched them. She said, “Man, I miss coaching.”

The two looked to her and then back to the kids. Abby examined them a bit longer, watching one of them catch the ball on the back of his neck. Octavia screamed and clapped in excitement. He brought the ball back down and tried showing her how to do it.

Abby asked, “Do you they play anywhere?”

Indra looked to her and shook her head. “They use to play with the Grounders but Pike said all the rosters were full when he folded our team.”

Marcus and Abby looked to each other confused then. The max a roster could carry for their league was 14. Their team only had 10 kids on it.

“Really?” Marcus asked. “Our team only has 10 on it.”

Indra’s eyebrow shot up at that. “Really? I wonder why Pike lied.”

“I wonder if it had anything to do with the teams merging,” Marcus guessed.

“Or Cage had something to do with it,” Abby added in. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”

Indra laughed and said, “Me either. We were coming to take his title you know. Lincoln and Gaia, my two kids, had really grown after a short summer program with Trikru’s top player, Nyko. Then we recently got Lexa, Anya’s daughter, a great player who just moved to Arkadia last summer. I know he felt threatened.”

The duo watched Lincoln hold the ball on Octavia’s neck for her, giving her instructions. Gaia was talking with Bellamy as she juggled with her feet. Lexa and Clarke were passing the ball together with their heads.

“Well,” Abby said, an idea popping into her head, “I know how we can piss him off more.”

“Do tell,” Indra said, intrigued. Marcus also was interested in this idea.

Abby wasn’t a fan of change and merging the teams in the beginning as it was a big change to her coaching plans. Her idea wasn’t far from that either but this time she got to decide it. She told Indra, “Those three can join the Delinquents.”

Indra looked back to the three as Marcus looked to Abby. He saw what she was doing. They were good players, and maybe the lucky break they would need to win the games they needed to win. Also, if Abby ever got a chance to piss Cage off, Marcus knew she would take it.

Indra smiled and looked to Abby saying, “I’m sure they’d love to.”

Abby smiled and looked to Marcus who smiled back. “But,” Indra’s voice broke through, “Sunday mornings are blocked off for church. All three are deeply involved and it’s their first commitment for Sunday.”

“Understood,” Marcus replied. “I’m happy they’ll get to play again after you having to fold your team.”

“Me too,” she said as she looked back to kids. “It was weird, you know? All the sudden the practice schedule I could pick from switched. Cage’s practices had switched to the only available time slot I had with my promotion. Cage said he couldn’t budge his time slots either which I know is bullshit.”

“Do you think he did it on purpose?” Abby asked. “Because you were a threat to his title?”

She shrugged as she looked to the two saying, “I’m not sure. I wouldn’t be surprised. Just like I wouldn’t be surprised if it was his idea to merge you guys.”

“Him?” Marcus was surprised by the suggestion. “What say does he have in it?”

“Pike told me at the meeting with my time schedule that he was going to have to fold both your teams due to low turnout. There was nothing mentioned about a merge. Cage had a meeting after me with Pike. That’s how I know Cage couldn’t change his time, he called Cage in early to try and settle it,” Indra explained.

“Just doesn’t explain why he would want us to merge our teams,” Marcus muttered to himself mainly.

“I think he didn’t want to lose you two in the league in that way,” Indra spoke. “With the two worst teams leaving, that left room for three teams to enter the league. That could’ve been three new teams that were better than his. Merging yours doesn’t leave that as an option.”

“Then why make that bet with us? It’s a fool’s bet on our end,” Abby questioned, curiosity blossoming in her. “If we lost, then we’d have to leave.”

“Probably because then only one team would have to join the league as opposed to three,” Marcus started to catch on.

Indra nodded and said, “And it’s easy to take care of one team instead of three. Look at mine for example.”

“Someone is truly insecure about his position on top, isn’t he?” Abby joked and earned a laugh from them both.

“Well,” Marcus declared, “all we can do now is win the bet and really shatter his perfect life.”

“You think you can do it?” Indra asked them.

Abby and Marcus looked at each other and smirked. The rivalry would always be alive in them but they could go about it the right way. They could fix the kid’s mistakes and theirs too along the way. The three newest delinquents could help with that too. And with that, they would hopefully pull off a novel miracle.

“Hope is everything,” Abby declared.


	10. We don’t meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 7.4k words of shit where Kabby actually does something right

“Still no pennies?” Abby asked as she watched Marcus shifting through his car. She leaned up against the car, raising an eyebrow to him as he looked from the mess he called a trunk to her.

“Ha ha ha,” he responded as he looked back to the mess, “very funny.”

She shrugged, “It was an innocent question.”

He looked to her again as he pulled his equipment bag from his car. “Is anything ever innocent with you?” He asked.

She smirked as he shut the door to the trunk. She said, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Her eyes were playful and Marcus didn’t miss the challenge in her words. He smirked at her and winked. “You’ll never know,” he said as he turned to walk over to the field.

Abby shook her head as she followed behind him. After the conversation with Indra last weekend, the two had promised as they left the field to try their best to not fight. God knows how long the promise would last. They were on a thin line already. They only had room for one more loss and if that happened, they needed that lucky break to come sooner than later. That was due to ignite some sort of argument. Hopefully, they would be able to work through it now instead of beating the other into submission.

Marcus still decided to ditch the hair gel and razor. He had grown past the stubble stage and it was settling into the start of a beard. Abby had never been a fan of beards before, but for some reason it fit him. She liked it.

Marcus dropped the equipment bag by the bench as Indra strode up with the three kids. Their kids who had played with them the short time on the weekend grinned big as they walked over. Clarke elbowed Raven in the side whispering, “That’s who I was talking about!”

Raven crossed her arms as she examined the three walking up. “I remember them,” she answered, “especially the one in the middle. She was ruthless when it came to beating me.” She had been referring to Lexa.

A snort of laughter was heard besides them. The two girls turned to find Murphy shaking his head. He looked to them and told Raven, “No one has to be ruthless to beat you.”

Raven tilted her head to the side and asked, “Feeling a little insecure, Murphy? Is this because everyone still remembers how she laid you flat on your ass last year?”

Heat flushed to his cheeks as he tried to sputter back a response. Raven turned back to Clarke, ignoring the embarrassed boy. She shrugged, “She’s not making me look a fool anymore, that’s all I care about.”

“Anyone can make you look like a fool,” the two heard Miller mutter under his breath.

Raven tilted her head to the side like she had with Murphy as she turned to face him. He seemed unbothered by the look. She asked, “Excuse me?”

He didn’t answer her and continued to look at her, unfazed. She looked down suddenly and her eyes went wide at his feet. He saw her reaction and quickly looked down asking, “What?!”

“This,” she said and suddenly Miller got a face full of blue penny. His vision went blue as the penny he was wearing got shoved over his head.

“Hey!” He shouted as he tried to rip Raven’s hands off and get the penny off. He stumbled backwards where Octavia kicked a ball at him, it going through his legs.

“Nutmeg!” Raven shouted, throwing her hands up in the air, letting him go.

Miller lost his balance and fell to the ground. He laid there, defeated. “Someone tell me why I bother,” he asked aloud.

Raven high-fived Octavia as she walked over to her. Bellamy helped Miller off the ground and got the penny off his head. He was glaring at the two and Raven winked and blew him a kiss in response.

At the same time, Indra had walked up the Marcus and Abby. She was watching the whole scene between the kids go down and looked to the duo with a raised eyebrow. Abby told her, “You knew what you were getting into.”

She shrugged, agreeing and patted Gaia on the head. “Alright kiddos, play nice,” she told them.

The three said goodbye to her as she went to the sideline to watch practice. Abby clapped, getting their attention and smiled to them. “Welcome to the Delinquents! Let’s introduce you to the team.”

The two brought the three over to where the kids were all gathered. Abby smiled and held her arms out in front of her saying, “Alright guys, we’re proud to announce we’ve adopted three new delinquents to the team! Meet Lincoln, Lexa, and Gaia.”

Octavia immediately smiled and said, “Hi Lincoln!”

He smiled, a bit shyly at her, but waved back at her. Bellamy side-eyed his little sister and Lincoln. He immediately stepped closer to her and a bit in front of her. He crossed his arms, watching Lincoln. Lincoln noticed but all he did was offer him a smile.

Clarke offered a small wave to Lexa who smiled back, tiny but noticeable.

Raven was watching Gaia with curiosity. Gaia noticed and looked to her, but Raven didn’t look away. Raven pointed at her, saying, “You’re the one who told me, ‘nice try, sweetheart’, aren’t you?”

Gaia smirked a little and asked, “I don’t know, are you the one who tried to take my legs out after I nutmegged you?”

Raven flushed a little bit with embarrassment. She crossed her arms and looked away, pouting. “Maybe,” she replied, looking to her out of the corner of her eye.

Marcus shook his head with a little laughter. He told the group, “That’s all in the past. They’re your teammates now. We expect you to accept them with open arms, got it? If not, you can do full field suicides.”

Raven immediately put on a full grin and looked to Gaia. She grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. By the look on Gaia’s face, she was caught off guard. Raven said, “Welcome to the team, sweetheart! We’re going to have so much fun!”

Everyone laughed as Gaia shoved Raven’s arm off her, side-eyeing her. Raven winked at her.

“Alright,” Abby said as they calmed down, “let’s warm up.”

“What are we going to do?” Clarke asked.

“Sharks and minnows!” Octavia shouted from the crowd.

Abby smirked as she looked back to Marcus. He had the look of, “you’ve got to be kidding me,” written across his face. He knew Abby thought she was winning inside and he wanted nothing more than to shut her down, but his eyes trailed to where Indra was sitting. She raised an eyebrow at him.

With great discomfort, he sighed, telling the group, “Murphy, you’re the shark to start off with.”

The kids all screamed in delight and ran off with their balls to the end of the grid. Octavia grabbed Lincoln’s hand and told him, “I’ll teach you how to play! Come on!”

Marcus watched as she dragged the poor boy to the end of the grid. He felt his heart swell the slightest bit. Octavia had been seeming to enjoy soccer ever since the merge. Sure, she didn’t fully enjoy it like some of the others, but she got excited over this one thing and it made Marcus happy.

“Not to continue this rivalry,” Abby’s voice broke through his thoughts, “but I totally just one up’d you.”

His little smirk returned in response and Abby prepared for his annoying response. The smirk still stirred annoyance in her but not as much hatred as it used to. “We’ll see about that,” was all he replied with.

She smirked back as they both turned their attention to the grid for sharks and minnows. Marcus blew his whistle for the drill to start once the three were introduced to the rules. Murphy went after Miller right off the bat again and got him out along with Raven. Everyone else ended up on the other side.

Octavia grinned big at Lincoln, asking, “Isn’t this fun?!”

He smiled down to her and nodded as Marcus blew the whistle for the next round to start.

Gaia was dribbling fast in empty space when Raven suddenly appeared in front of her. She smirked and said, “You’re not passing me this time, sweetheart.”

Gaia returned the smirk and said nothing as she exploded forward. Gaia quickly executed the scissors move (where she lunges over the ball with both feet alternating in both directions) perfectly. Raven dove in and Gaia pushed the ball past her and exploded into the empty space behind her. She crossed the line and trapped the ball under her foot. She looked back to a flabbergasted Raven, telling her, “Maybe next time, sweetheart.”

“Holy shit,” Abby said in response to the scene she had just witnessed. She had seen Clarke execute some moves, but never those and never that flawlessly. Gaia did it without a second thought and with confidence.

Marcus was also amazed. He had never seen Bellamy do moves like that. He just tried to power through everyone and use his athleticism to his advantage. Hell, he had never seen a Mount Weather player do those moves either.

Lincoln was running alongside Octavia when Murphy came after her. Octavia froze up a bit, her confidence shattering in a heartbeat. Lincoln reacted immediately, throwing his body in between Murphy and his ball, shielding Murphy away from Octavia as well.

“Go!” Lincoln shouted at her. Octavia seemed unsure for a bit but Lincoln smiled at her, adding, “I got this.”

She nodded and ran forward and Lincoln held Murphy off until Octavia crossed the line into the end zone. As soon as Lincoln recognized that, he spun off Murphy, hitting his ball with his back heel. The ball rolled perfectly through Murphy’s legs as Lincoln spun off him. The ball was on the backside of Murphy ready to meet Lincoln’s run. Lincoln collected the ball and exploded into a dribble until he was over the line into the end zone.

Octavia had a wide mouth as she watched Lincoln come to a stop beside her. “Holy crap!” Octavia shouted, jumping up and down. “You have to teach me that!”

Lincoln smiled and laughed a little, scratching the back of his head, a little shy. “How about a simple nutmeg to start off?”

“That’s fine!” She exclaimed, a huge smile on her face.

Bellamy watched the exchange, safe in the end zone as well. He looked to his ball and looked to the defenders in the grid. Some people were still dribbling out, Miller getting Monty out. Raven then got Harper out. Lexa, Clarke, and Wells were the only ones left in the grid.

Marcus was watching over Octavia and Lincoln. He felt jealous. Of a _twelve year old_. This new boy, in the span of ten minutes, had made Octavia excited about soccer. He hadn’t accomplished that in the span of five years of being her coach. A little jealous was an understatement.

Hell, even Abby had made her excited before he had. She was the one who brought sharks and minnows to Octavia, not him. He would never admit it, but he was jealous of her in that aspect as well.

Lexa was taking her time, dribbling into empty space when the sharks would leave to challenge another minnow. She was almost to the end zone when Miller stepped in front of her.

Lexa calmly trapped her ball in front of him. She examined him, a memory coming back to her. She asked, “You’re the one who said anyone could make her,” nodding to Raven, “look like fool, correct?”

Miller didn’t answer, already feeling nervous what his answer might bring. “And if I am?” He asked, nerves shaking his voice.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” she replied as she charged forward.

Miller froze for a moment before getting into a defensive stance. Lexa got about two yards from Miller before she stepped in front of the ball and used her back foot to roll the ball up the ankle of her front foot. With that front foot, she kicked the ball up and over her head, ultimately going over Miller as well.

He was frozen in place as he watched the ball sail over his head. “Holy sh-” he began to say before Lexa bumped into him as she ran by. He got knocked to the floor and watched as Lexa effortlessly trapped the ball and dribbled over into the end zone.

She looked back to Miller and offered him a smile. He groaned and closed his eyes and hit his head onto the ground. In the background, you could hear Raven laughing.

Abby was watching in shock, her mouth hanging open. _Holy. Shit._ She looked to Marcus who wore the same expression of astonishment as she did. He looked over to her and Abby shrugged, not having any words to express what they just witnessed.

As the rounds continued, the three Grounders continued to impress everyone with their moves and defeating each shark. They made it look effortless and like they could do it with their eyes closed. Everyone was astonished.

Bellamy had tried to copy one of Lincoln’s moves and Murphy kicked his ball out, earning him a spot as a shark in the fourth round. Soon enough, the Grounders were the only remaining players left as minnows. Even then, they still dribbled by everyone and made it into the end zone. That went on for a couple rounds before Abby just declared them all winners.

She was afraid they’d be doing it all practice or that they would never finish the game. They let the kids go get water and stretch on their own as Marcus began to set up a drill to work on their formation with the newly added Delinquents. Abby was following him as he did and asked him, “You saw what I saw right?”

He set a cone down and looked to her. “About the Grounder kids?” She nodded. He laughed a little bit. “Everyone saw it. It doesn’t matter what formation we use or how bad one of our kids may screw up. If we get one of them the ball, they’ll take care of it.”

Abby nodded in agreement. She felt bad about pushing off the team’s development for the moment but they desperately needed the wins to feel comfortable and secure. They were only allowed one slip up. Better to save that later than use it now.

She looked at the grid he was setting up and asked, “So, this isn’t really a formation drill, is it?”

He laid down the last cone and stood up, walking to the ball bag with her. He told her, “No, not really, but at the same time it is.”

She looked to it and examined the cones more closely. She immediately recognized the formation he had set up. She was a bit shocked to be honest. She looked to him, to see him smirking to her. “Like it?” He asked her.

The little smirk he was wearing was irritating because he knew what he was doing. But she wasn’t going to lie, she _did_ like it. Hell, she _loved_ it. It was her beloved 3-3-1. She asked, “Why the sudden change of heart?”

He shrugged as he kicked the balls to where Wells would be in goal. He told her, “Because the other one wasn’t working.”

“Could you repeat that?” Abby asked. “Let me record it real quick.”

He rolled his eyes and kicked at a ball at her. She moved in time before it hit her legs and she stuck her tongue out at him. He shook his head, adding, “And, with those three, we want them together around the field enough to cover up any mistakes that will be made. This drill will help us get used to the formation and learn our game plan of including those three.”

She nodded in approval. She wouldn’t tell him that, of course, but she was pretty sure he could sense her approval. He confirmed those thoughts, whispering to her, “And I know you agree with it. You don’t have to admit it but I know, I know what’s best.”

He was mocking her from their conversation with Indra. She reached out and slapped his arm and he leaned away from her, laughing. He called out to the kids to come over and they set them up in a formation with five off to the side for subs.

Wells was in goal with Raven, Murphy, and Miller being the backline. The middle contained Monty on the left wing, Harper in the middle, and Jasper on the right wing. Bellamy was the lone forward. Off to the side were Clarke, Octavia, Lexa, Lincoln, and Gaia.

Marcus told Wells to play the ball out and let the kids build up for a while on their own. Every once in a while, they would stop it and direct a specific ball. Then, they switched in the subs. Lexa, Lincoln, and Gaia traded in for the whole midfield line while Octavia went up top with Abby reluctantly letting Clarke go in for center back for Murphy.

They gave them the same freedom as the first group and instantly the play was better with the Grounder kids. They made dynamic runs and made effective passes. They communicated well with each other, directing and being supportive of each other. Lincoln, who was the center midfielder, helped Clarke with directing from the backline.

Soon enough, they started to mix their original delinquents in with the Grounders, where not all three were in the midfield. Sometimes Lexa found herself up top or Clarke did. Lincoln found himself in the defense as well, and Gaia mainly stayed in the midfield position. They practiced mixing players in different positions to find efficient combinations.

When practice came to an end, both coaches felt confident with their newly found formation and different line ups. Abby was still unsure of one Marcus had written down in his notebook. It was the one where Clarke was listed as the center defense.

He reassured her they would only use it in an emergency, otherwise Clarke would be up top, as she worked with well with Lexa as one winger and Octavia as the other. Octavia seemed to work well with Clarke and Lincoln. She seemed to trust they would direct and help her.

They were packing up their bags when Jaha came up to Abby with a smile on his face. “Congratulations Coach, seems like you finally made a good decision,” he told her before walking off with Murphy and Wells.

Well, it wasn’t exactly a compliment, but it was the closest to one she would get from him.

+

The following practice that week, the Delinquents worked on perfecting their game plan with including the Grounder kids in their formation. Abby actually left the practice feeling good, like _really_ good. She felt they may have a chance this weekend.

Abby was currently parking at the complex after dropping Clarke off at the field. They played game number three today against the Sailors. Their head coach was Luna. She was a coach Abby actually didn’t fight with or get carded against. Luna was the definition of relaxed.

Abby parked her car to once again see the last person she wanted to see. Cage Wallace was leaned up against his car, watching her park. She groaned as she noticed him walk over as she unbuckled. She didn’t want to deal with his bullshit today.

She got out of her car and quickly got her equipment bag from her trunk, closing it to see Cage right by her car. It made her jump a little, surprised he had made it over so fast.

He noticed and smirked, asking her, “Do I make your heart race, Griffin?”

She laughed, no humor in it all. She would rather inject too much potassium and have her heart stop before he made her heart race. “Not in a good way,” she assured him as she put the bag on her shoulders.

She turned away from him, deciding to end the conversation before it started, and started towards the field. He followed her, obviously not done talking. He got straight to point, telling her, “Pike told me about the three newest additions to your team.”

Abby stopped walking and turned to face him. He almost ran into her but she held a hand out to keep him back. “And?” She asked, a little curious to hear his opinion on it.

He said, “They’re from the Grounders, Indra’s old team.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” she told him, bored already, curiosity killed, “but why do you care?”

“I don’t.”

Abby knew he was lying the moment the words left his lips. Why else would he bring it up? Abby’s mind started to wander back to her conversation with Indra and Marcus last weekend about the possibility of Cage messing with the league to make sure he stayed on top.

“I’m just curious,” he added, “on what made you decide to add them to your roster?”

Yup, he felt a bit threatened. Without those three, the Delinquents were pretty much screwed unless they developed into a super team in the next week. With these three, they actually stood a chance, something Cage didn’t calculate in his plans.

“Oh, you should know,” Abby decided to tread on those eggshells of him possibly being a culprit in folding Indra’s team, “Indra’s team got folded, remember? The kids wanted to play so we invited them to play with us.”

“Unfortunate thing that happened with Indra’s team, no doubt,” he replied, shaking his head. Abby couldn’t feel the sincere regret in his voice. Alarms went off in her head as she shouted “Liar!” in her head.

“Real unfortunate,” she agreed, “especially since Pike told her all the rosters were full when our team only had 10 spots of 14 taken.”

She watched him as she could sense alarms going off in his head. He quickly recovered, suggesting, “Maybe he told her that when he had the original idea of getting rid of your two teams. All rosters would have been full then.”

“You heard about our teams being folded? Both of them?” She asked, lacing fake surprise into her voice. “Pike told us that wasn’t an option.”

That did it. His composure cracked the slightest bit and she saw panic flash in his eyes. He quickly gathered his composure, but it wasn’t quick enough. Abby saw it. She smirked to herself, knowing whatever was gonna come out of his mouth was 100% a lie.

“Wild guess,” _what a bullshit lie_ , “I mean, it would make sense as we all saw the low turnout you guys had.” He grinned, way too big and way too flashy to be real. “I’m glad he decided to merge you instead.”

“Mhmm,” Abby answered him, watching him struggling to keep his façade up, “We’re glad too.”

She decided she had enough and turned to walk away. She stopped when she reached the sidewalk and looked over her shoulder to him. He seemed to have let out a big sigh of relief. “Hey,” she called out, making him jump. He looked to her.

“I’d watch out if I were you,” she informed him. “I heard Marcus has a bottle of cranberry juice.”

His face twisted into anger as he watched her turn around with a smirk and continue walking. He was wearing a pale blue suit today. What a shame (or blessing) it would be if red juice got split all over it.

She finally made it to the bench where Marcus had already gotten the kids into a game of possession. Her stomach dropped as she noticed the kids were wearing “pennies” as she still had her bag of pennies with her. She looked to Marcus and he was smirking as he watched the warm up.

She set her bag down by the bench and joined him beside the grid. She asked, “I’m guessing you found your penny bag?”

He nodded. “In the oddest place you could ever guess.” She waited to hear Octavia’s part of the bathroom and he confirmed it by saying, “Where Octavia told me to never go, her section of the bathroom.”

She laced curiosity into her voice, asking, “If she told you never to go in there, why did you?”

He smirked a bit, catching on a bit to her sudden interest. Abby cursed to herself. He probably knew she had played a role in the bag going missing. He told her, “There was a spider in there. She wanted me to kill it.”

A spider was her downfall. Tragic.

He looked to her out of the corner of his eye, asking, “Would you have any idea why Octavia would be hiding my penny bag?”

“Probably to save you from embarrassment.”

He laughed and once again Abby noticed how lovely it sounded when it wasn’t aimed at her. She found her eyes wandering to his face again, noticing his beard had grown a bit more over the week. It still wasn’t a full beard but it was a beard. Her mind wandered to what it would feel like to run her hand through it.

Marcus looked to her, scratching his beard, telling her, “She basically told me that reason. So for her punishment, I brought them for today and made her wear one.”

“Oh, big, bad Marcus,” Abby mocked, “making his daughter wear a ‘penny’.”

He smirked and shook his head as he ignored her, looking back to the grid. He kept his hand on his chin, stroking the bread that rested there. Her eyes were drawn to it. Before she could stop herself, she joked, “Isn’t it punishment enough that she has to see that thing every time she wakes up?”

He looked to her and saw her staring at her beard. He smirked a bit and slowly stroked the whole thing. He watched her eyes follow his movements. He asked, “This? You don’t like it?”

“Hell no.” He knew she was lying. “You look like a caveman even more now.”

He stroked it again, making eye contact with her. He could see the want in her eyes and in her body language. She liked it. He teased, “Really? You sure you don’t want to run your hand through it?”

Oh _boy_ , did Abby want to. She wanted to do a lot more with than she cared to mention in front of the kids. She needed to keep it PG around them. Now, if they were back in that bathroom…

Abby stopped her mind from wandering before her thoughts betrayed her and showed on her face. She crossed her arms and gave him a defiant look. “I’d rather cut my hands off.”

He shrugged, _that_ smirk appearing again. “Your loss,” he replied.

Oh, a loss for sure, but Abby also believed in never say never.

Alie blew the whistle to signal the game starting soon. All the kids came over and took off their pennies. Marcus told them their starting line and they all gathered together, hands in the middle, and counted down to shout together, “DELINQUENTS!”

The starting eight ran on to the field. Abby wasn’t lying if she wasn’t excited for this game. There was a glimmer of hope and yes, she was ecstatic about her formation being used.

Wells was in goal and the backline from left to right was Raven, Murphy, and Miller. The midfield contained Monty on the left wing, Harper in the center, and Jasper on the right wing. At forward stood Bellamy.

Abby saw Cage watching from afar. She smirked to herself. They were keeping their top lineup off for right now to send a surprise message. Indra had told Abby at the last practice that Cage had caught wind of the newest recruits. Abby had offered the idea of using their usual lineup in case he showed up to watch. Marcus agreed for once.

The Sailors had kick off and when Alie blew the whistle, they immediately pushed forward. The Sailors weren’t a top four team. They usually finished right above the Assassins, usually winning against them and the Lifesavers. Sometimes they would get lucky and beat the Flames (coached by Titus) who would usually finish above them.

They didn’t believe in dirty tackles or playing dirty. There was almost always no fouls called on them unless it was an accident or shit out of luck call. Luna reassured Abby that sane coaches do exist.

Even though they weren’t a dirty team, they still played tough. They definitely don’t go into tackles soft. They were one of the better teams with physical strength and used it to their advantage. Their midfielders easily passed around their midfield and advanced towards the defense.

Raven stepped up and waited a bit on her tackle, not diving in right away. However, she still ended up diving in and got beat down the line. Miller stood on his mark but didn’t defend very hard when he saw Raven dive in.

Murphy was trying to muscle the player he was defending away as Raven’s player served the ball in. The Sailor’s play jumped in the air, winning the physical battle over Murphy. Murphy got mad and hit him from behind, making the player fall forward and hit the ground. Alie instantly blew her whistle.

With their luck, it was in the box.

Alie set the ball at the penalty spot marker after she talked to Murphy. He just nodded and walked off out of the grid. He looked to Wells before he did and told him, “Don’t miss.”

Wells faltered a bit as he got ready on his line. The kid who was fouled stepped up to the ball and placed it on the line where he wanted. Alie blew her whistle when she saw both boys were ready. The kid walked up and shot the ball into the lower right corner.

Wells had dove for it and it tipped his fingers before slipping into the back of the net. The Sailors were up 0-1.

The parents for the Sailors all cheered. Cece snorted on the sideline, muttering, “Only way you can score a goal is from a give me.”

A parent from the Sailors had heard her and looked to her. He told her, “At least we _can_ score.”

Cece looked to him, a look of disgust on her face. Roan jumped in, retorting, “On a penalty kick? Where the shooter _should_ score? Congrats, you’re average.”

The parent didn’t have a reply and decided it was best to keep quiet and looked back to the game. Cece burst into laughter and high-fived Roan.

Abby couldn’t help her smile either. That was a good remark by Roan. Yes, it was a foul, but every penalty kick (PK) should go in. It was nothing against the goalies, but the odds were in favor of the shooter.

Alie blew her whistle for the kick off to happen and Bellamy passed it back to Harper. She looked around and played Jasper who took a huge touch up the line, chasing after it. He immediately got into a tackle with a Sailor defender and lost the ball.

Miller tried to defend when the player came and advanced on him. He was easily defeated and Miller sent a not-so-nice glare towards Jasper. Murphy slid over to attempt a block at the shot. The ball ricocheted off his leg and over the end line. The Sailors had a corner.

One of their players sent in a nice ball that Wells punched out. The ball rolled out to Monty who gathered up the ball but was looking around lost. Immediately, he was double teamed and the ball was stolen from him.

It turned into a 2v1 against Raven. She lunged for the pass to the other player in the combo, resulting in being beaten in a give-and-go. It turned into a breakaway against Wells.

He looked around, not really sure if he should come out or not. He decided to and slid in attempts to stop the shot. The player chipped it right over his hands and it sailed into the back of the net. Sailors up 0-2.

Abby looked over to the tree where Cage was propped up against it. He was smirking as he watched her. This is usually the part of the game where Abby would start losing her patience. This time, however, she had a trick up her sleeve. She smirked back at him, earning a confused raised eyebrow back from him.

She looked up to Marcus and he looked back to her. They both nodded in understanding and looked back to the five on the bench. Abby told them, “Sub in where you told you beforehand.”

The all got up and Alie let them in.

Clarke went in for Bellamy, Lexa went in for Monty, Gaia went in for Harper, Octavia went in for Jasper, and Lincoln went in for Miller, but pushed Murphy to outside back.

Clarke was the one who started the play when Alie blew the whistle for play to resume. She passed it back to Gaia, who opened up and played it to Raven.

Raven dribbled up the line like that had practiced and found Gaia back in the center. She turned, efficiently avoiding a tackle with a Sailor player. She found Lincoln and played it to him, who quickly played it to Murphy running up the line.

From the backline, Lincoln yelled, “Clarke! Check to!”

Clarke did as instructed and ran into the space in front of the center back towards Murphy. He played her the ball and she trapped it, looking over her shoulder. She saw Octavia is open space and played her the ball.

She froze up a little bit, looking to Clarke for directions. Clarke had spun off her man and was open for a pass back. Octavia played her the ball right into her run.

Clarke took a touch forward into the space in front of her. She dribbled to draw the center back over a tad, waiting for Lexa to make her run.

Gaia ran up for support, calling for it. Clarke immediately dropped it back to her. As the ball traveled from her foot to Gaia, Lexa took off in between the space of the Sailor’s outside right defense and center back. Gaia one touched it into that open space and into Lexa’s run.

Lexa trapped the ball with the inside of her foot, taking the touch behind the backline and into the goalie box. Lexa was calm as their goalie came charging at her. She lunged one way, faking it, and took her touch the other way. She had a wide open goal.

Abby ran up the sideline as she saw it. She wanted to charge the field now, before she knew what was going to happen. She already wanted to scream. She wanted to celebrate.

Lexa hit the ball with the inside of her right foot, slotting the ball into the back of the net. Alie blew her whistle, signaling a goal.

Immediately, everyone on the Delinquents’ sideline screamed and was jumping for joy. Abby stood at the half line, jumping up and down. She was screaming in joy as she watched Clarke tackle Lexa in a hug. Soon, all the players, including Wells, were in a hug to celebrate it.

Abby heard Cece shout from behind her, “That’s how you _earn_ a goal!”

She finally calmed down a tad but her heart was still racing. They had actually done it. Her team had scored a goal. Sure, Marcus knew that feeling but she herself never knew how good it felt. She wanted to feel it more often. It was a better feeling than throwing a clipboard in frustration.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked behind her to see Marcus smiling down to her. She grinned back up to him as their eyes said everything.

Soon, Abby broke their eye contact and looked to where Cage was standing by the tree. He didn’t looked pleased. He made eye contact with Abby for a short second before he turned and stormed off.

The hand on her shoulder gave her a squeeze and told her, “We did it.”

Abby looked back to the game where Alie just had blown the whistle to signal the kickoff. It was now 1-2. He wasn’t lying. They had scored a goal, they did that.

Her eyes wandered to the empty space where Cage stood moments ago. They hadn’t done it yet. They still had to win. She told him exactly that. “Not yet. We still have to win this thing.”

He guessed, “Then we win the whole thing?”

“Exactly.”

+

“ ** _GET IT OUT!_** ”

Abby swears this is what a heart attack felt like.

There was less than a minute in play to go and the Delinquents were up 4-3. The Sailors had pushed to three up top, applying a shit ton of pressure. Abby and Marcus had to fall back on having Lincoln, Murphy, and Raven as their backline.

Abby didn’t want to put Clarke in the back in case they sent the ball up the line. She knew Clarke could latch on to it and keep it in the corner to kill time. So, Marcus fell back to putting Bellamy as a holding center mid, offering defensive help.

Right now, the Sailors had a corner and the ball was bouncing around the in the box. Everyone was back to help defend the goal, save Clarke at the half line.

Seriously, how long was a minute? Abby _swears_ Alie is dragging it on. The minute passed three minutes ago!

“Wells! Incoming!” Abby heard Murphy shout as she saw a Sailor make contact with the ball in midair.

Well’s view was restricted but he reacted and dove as other players dove in front of the ball, either hoping to deflect it in or kick it out. Abby lost sight of the ball as about five players fell on Wells after he fell towards the ball.

Right after that, Alie blew the whistle, signaling the end of the game.

No one screamed. Everyone on each bench was holding their breath as Alie ran up to the dogpile to determine if the ball was over the line or not.

Abby was glued to her spot as she waited for the news. Slowly, but surely, Alie helped kids up and off the pile. Soon enough, Wells was the only one laying on the floor, curled up in a ball.

Alie crouched down and examined the ball position. She helped Wells off the floor, him bring the ball up with him. Abby’s heart skipped a beat as she watched Alie jog out of the mess with the ball in her hands. Abby was sure she was going to have heart failure if Alie didn’t mention anything soon.

She stopped before the three coaches and looked at both. She offered a smile and Abby’s heart skipped another beat. Alie informed them, “No goal. The Delinquents win.”

Abby immediately screamed and threw her arms up in the air. Screams exploded from the parents and the kids on the field and bench.

They _won._ Abby **_won_. **

She didn’t know to react properly. How does one react to winning a game? She had no idea. So, she turned to the one person she knew who knew.

Marcus stood there clapping and grinning big. He then bent over and picked up Octavia, spinning her around as she laughed. His grin was big as he held her close. The scene warmed Abby’s heart.

Suddenly, she was tackled in a hug and looked down to see Clarke hugging her around the waist. Abby held her close as Clarke told her, “We did it, Mom! We actually won a game!”

Abby smiled big and rubbed her head and said, “We sure did kiddo! Bout damn time!”

Clarke laughed and hugged her mother tighter for a second before running off to hug Octavia as Marcus set her down. They both watched the two smiling and soon looked to each other.

Marcus made his way over to her, smiling genuinely down to her. “Way to go, Coach.”

Had Abby heard him correctly? Did he just call her “ _coach”_? She was so caught off guard she couldn’t give back a sarcastic remark, instead, all she could muster up was, “What?”

He laughed a bit and told her, “I said, ‘way to go, Coach’.”

“Oh, I heard it,” she responded, regaining her composure a bit, “but I wasn’t sure I heard you right. Can I get that in writing?”

He laughed and went to respond when suddenly they were drenched in ice cold water. Abby froze up, screaming slightly as she felt the water prickling at her skin. It ended soon and she stood there, twitching in the cold.

She heard laughter from behind her and she moved her damp hair from her eyes and saw Jackson with Cece and Roan. They all were laughing and stood there guilty with the now empty water jug.

Jackson smiled at her, asking her, “You okay?”

She was in soaking wet clothes from head to toe. She was shivering. But she had won today. She was definitely okay. She flipped Jackson off in response and the three laughed and walked away with the jug. A deep chuckle from behind her, got her attention.

She turned around to see an equally wet Marcus. She was _definitely_ okay. He had taken off his usual leather jacket and now his already tight gray shirt cling to him. His hair was damp and he shook it, running his hand through it as he whipped it back. That defiant curl flopped on his forehead again.

Without much conscious thought, she reached up and moved it back into his other curls. It burned her hand, it cut right through the cold. His gaze was the same way. She could feel it burning her skin as he watched her move the curl away.

When she pulled back, her breath caught a little in her throat at the heat she saw in his eyes. It made her seem to forget that she just had ice cold water dumped on her as she began to feel hot inside.

They kept eye contact for a while before Abby broke it, feeling the intensity getting too much. It broke the little spell they were under. Abby decided to not make it awkward and teased him, “So, I’m a coach now?”

He smirked back at her. He wrung out his shirt a tad bit while watching her. “Well, I do remember telling a certain someone a while ago that a coach wins games,” he replied. “You won a game. Welcome to the coach club. Only took you five years.”

She hit him on the chest this time but her smile was playful as was his smirk. She looked past him as a certain someone in a light blue suit was watching them. He was pissed. He looked angry. He looked upset. It made Abby smile.

Marcus looked over his shoulder to see what she was looking at. He stepped in front of her, drawing her attention back to him. He told her, “Don’t let him ruin this for you.”

“Oh,” she said, “he’s not, trust me. His reaction makes this even better.”

“Still,” he told her, absentmindedly putting a damp strand of her hair behind her ear, “enjoy this.”

“And how do I do that?” She asked. “By staring into your chest all night?”

He smirked and winked at her. “I know many people who wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

“Really? I’m struggling to name one.” _That isn’t me._

He laughed and smiled down to her. He suggested, “Let’s have a small team celebration at my house tonight. We can order in pizza and do a campfire. It’ll be a perfect night for it.”

All Abby could imagine was her with a nice glass of wine, curled up in a blanket in front of the fire when he mentioned that. It sounded nice. What sounded even better was the possibility of him sitting with her by the fire, being all cozy to keep them warm.

It sounded like a perfect night. One Abby looked forward to.


	11. Winning isn’t everything, but it feels good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> does this title have a double meaning??????

It seemed like Abby was finally getting that shot she deserved. It wasn’t for the original reason she wanted it, but hell, she would take it. It was for a better reason now.

All the parents stood at the long picnic table on Marcus’ porch in his backyard, a short shot glass in front of each of them.

Marcus lifted his and said, “To the Delinquents first win!”

Abby lifted hers, standing beside him, and followed up with, “And for the many more to come!”

The rest of the adults cheered, lifting their own shot glasses and clinked them together with their neighbor. Abby turned to Marcus who looked to her as well. “To the best coaches,” Abby stated, raising hers to his.

He clinked his with hers, his signature smirk resting on his lips. “To the best coaches,” he agreed. They both downed the shot, wincing the slightest at the bitter taste.

“Never gets easier,” Abby said as she immediately drank from her cup of sprite. Abby would be lying if she said that was the first shot she had that night. It was a good thing Indra had driven her and Clarke here.

“Nope,” Marcus agreed as he began to chug down his own pop.

“I think I should retire the vodka,” she added as an afterthought. It was never nice to her in college, God knows why she would think now would be any different. If she wasn’t careful, she would end up in the bathtub wearing a bunch of Christmas lights, screaming “IT’S LIT!” before passing out.

And _no_ , Abby isn’t speaking from experience. She _swears_ it was a dream.

“I have some wine inside,” Marcus suggested.

This spiked some curiosity in her. She never saw Marcus as a wine person. With knowing him the past five years, she saw him saw him as the typical ‘crack a cold beer open and scream at the TV while watching college football’ type of guy.

Marcus Kane just continued to surprise her.

“Sounds nice,” she told him, imagining drinking it by the campfire.

He smiled and went inside to fetch the bottle and two glasses. She looked to the small campfire Marcus had started for the kids. They all sat around it, making s’mores and drinking pop. Clarke was sitting alone at the moment, trying to get her marshmallow off the stick and into her crackers.

Abby made her way down to the small campfire pit and took the crackers from her daughter. Clarke looked up to her and smiled as Abby finished making the s’more for her. She started to hand it to her daughter, but swiped it away at the last minute.

Abby winked and took a bite of it and then handed it over to the grumpy girl. Hey, Abby doesn’t work for free!

Soon, Octavia and Raven came over to her with their own s’mores, sitting by her. Lexa was in front of them, cooking her own marshmallow as Clarke got her crackers and chocolate ready.

Abby found an open bench and sat down on it. The air outside was starting to get nippy, the temperature dropping with the night settling in. She was in a regular t-shirt from one of Clarke’s school plays and her hair was in a ponytail, due to it being slightly damp from her winning ice bath earlier.

She saw the others from the team all huddled around Bellamy, watching him do something. She leaned a bit to the side to see what he was doing. She strained to hear him say, “I will draw a picture and you try to repeat it correctly. I will let you know if you do.”

Everyone seemed intrigued and told him to get on with it. He lifted his left hand and drew a circle while saying, “There was a man on the moon,” he added two dots for eyes, one for a nose, and draw a smile, “with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth.”

They all waited for more to happen but Bellamy lowered his arm. Murphy asked, “That’s it?”

Bellamy nodded and Murphy snorted. “That’s easy. I got this.” He proceeded to lift his right hand and repeat exactly what Bellamy did, word for word and piece for piece in the drawing.

Bellamy smirked as Murphy finished and told him, “Wrong.”

“Wrong?” Murphy sounded offended. “What do you mean _wrong_?”

“It’s wrong.” Bellamy didn’t sound bothered.

“I did exactly what you did!” Abby and the others agreed but now Abby was curious. Did Murphy not dot the left eye first? Did he draw the smile the wrong way? Or did he say something wrong?

“Nope,” Bellamy said as he rubbed his hands together. He looked around the tiny group and said, “Watch me closely.”

He lifted his left hand again and proceeded to repeat the exact same thing he had shown them before. It was the exact same Murphy had done as well.

“That’s what I did!” Murphy complained.

Bellamy shook his head and looked around the group, asking, “Anyone else wanna try?”

Wells lifted his right hand and did it slowly, watching Bellamy the whole time. He had repeated Bellamy to the T, but Bellamy still shook his head and told him, “Wrong.”

Abby heard a snort of laughter and all the heads turned to look at Murphy. Raven’s voice boomed from the other bench, “I don’t know what you’re laughing at Murphy, since you failed as well.”

Octavia and Clarke burst into giggles beside her as the group turned to look at them. Murphy snorted again, telling her, “I’d like to see you try, Reyes.”

“Fine,” she replied and Bellamy focused his attention on her. She lifted her right hand and repeated what Bellamy had done. She crossed her arms, smirking and told them, “Done.”

The group looked to Bellamy for confirmation and he crossed his arms. He smirked to Raven. “Wrong.”

“What?!”

Abby heard Murphy laugh in response as well as Raven go off into a tangent about how Bellamy was wrong and not her. She wasn’t sure if the few shots she had were distorting her vision yet or not but she was pretty sure everyone had copied Bellamy exactly. Maybe he was just being an ass. Like father, like son, right?

The wind blew a short gust of wind, making the hair on her arms stand up. Goosebumps exploded across her body as she suddenly wrapped her arms around her body. She could really use that wine right now, it would warm her up instantly.

Suddenly, a heavy leather jacket landed on her shoulders. It cut off the cold instantly and she was surrounded by warmth and the slight smell of forest. She grabbed each side and pulled it tighter to her as her head turned around to see Marcus sitting by her.

He set the two glasses between them and opened the wine bottle. He looked to her smiling as he poured the glasses. He nodded towards where Raven was arguing with Bellamy over the little game. “I taught him that.”

“You did? I thought I noticed something familiar while he was performing it.”

He raised an eyebrow at her as he topped off the glasses. He asked, “And what is that?”

He set the bottle on the ground and handed her one. She smiled her thanks as she took a long sip of it. It tasted heavenly and added to the warmth spreading throughout her body. She made eye contact with him after and said, “Being an ass.”

He laughed and shook his head as he took his own sip from his glass. He smacked his lips after his drink and asked, “Good?”

She nodded and took another sip of it. She added as an afterthought, “Thanks for the jacket.”

“Didn’t want you to freeze,” he waved it off, “but I think your heart is past saving.”

An eyebrow shot up at that. She asked, “Are you calling me coldhearted?”

He smirked _that_ smirk as he went to take another sip of his drink. “You said it, not me.”

She reached out and hit his arm, making him laugh while drinking. A little splashed around his glass and landed on his chin. Absentmindedly, and blaming the vodka and wine, she reached out and wiped it off his beard.

No, it wasn’t an excuse to touch his beard. Really, that’s what Abby was trying to convince herself of. She was failing.

He watched her intently as her hand fell from his face. She proceeded to wipe her hand on his arm, telling him, “You’re a mess.”

He shrugged and took another drink slowly as he watched her. She felt herself become warmer under his gaze. She wasn’t sure what made her the warmest: the jacket, the wine, or _him_.

To distract herself as her mind began to spin, she nodded towards the group of kids still surrounding Bellamy. She asked, “So, how is everyone doing it wrong when they repeat exactly what he’s doing?”

“Are they?” He questioned.

His tone made her unsure and she frowned. She examined the group again, watching as Bellamy shook his head as Raven tried again. She had repeated him move for move. She didn’t know what she was doing wrong.

“Watch me,” Marcus told her as he dragged her attention to him.

He lifted his left hand and drew a circle as he made eye contact with her. “There was a man on the moon,” he began and proceeded to draw two dots for eyes, one dot for a nose, and a line for a smile, “with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth.”

Abby was intensely watching it. It was what exactly Bellamy had done, and the others for that matter. Why was theirs correct and not the others? What were they doing wrong? Abby took a long drink of her wine before saying, “Okay, I got it.”

She lifted her right hand and drew a circle, repeating his words. She drew the eyes, the nose, and the mouth. She set her hand down back in her lap as she looked to him for confirmation.

His smirk returned and Abby already knew the answer before he told her. “Wrong.”

To say she was pissed was an understatement. She did exactly what he did. She made sure she was paying close attention.

She watched as he took a long drink of his wine, finishing it off. He went to poor himself another glass as she drummed her fingers along the rim of her glass. What was she doing wrong?

“Do it again,” she demanded.

He had just set the bottle down and his smirk grew a bit. “Your wish is my command,” he replied as he lifted his left hand and repeated the same thing.

She was watching his hand move, gripping her wine glass tightly in her hand. Her right hand was tracing his movement and she repeated the words after him. When he finished, she finished as well.

She raised an eyebrow in question. He watched her for a moment while he took another drink. “Nope,” he informed her after.

“Bullshit!”

He chuckled slightly as he watched her. “Is that you what you think?” He asked.

“I think you’re being an asshole,” she retorted, finishing her wine off in frustration. She handed him her empty glass and he took it to refill it.

She had copied him, right in front of him! There was no way she was wrong! He was being himself and it shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did annoy her.

He topped off her glass asking, “Were you copying me fully?”

“Yes!”

He smiled as he set the wine bottle down. He picked her glass up and handed it over to her but didn’t let go when her left hand wrapped around his slightly to grab it.

The little spark that ignited at their touch did more to warm her than the real fire beside them. It immediately spread up her arm and throughout her body.

Slowly and barely, he used his pointer finger to stroke her hand. Almost immediately the fire intensified. It was like gasoline met the fire, burning up fast.

She lifted her eyes to his and her breath hitched the slightest as she caught his gaze. The brown in them were swimming in the glare of the fire, looking like melted chocolate. She felt herself getting lost in them.

“Everything?” He suddenly asked.

“Hm?” She was too focused on the finger stroking her hand and the warmth the heat in his eyes were bringing her. She didn’t want it to end; she wanted more.

“Did you copy everything I did?” He explained.

Her mind wasn’t on the game anymore. To be completely honest, her mind was on more interesting things. Like the way she loved the way his hand tightened around hers slightly after he spoke. She didn’t want to talk about the game anymore.

“Mhmmm,” she answered. She didn’t trust her words, her brain a mush between the alcohol, his fingers, and his eyes.

“I don’t think so,” he said as the finger that was stroking her hand, tapped against her hand.

She reluctantly broke eye contact with him to look down to their hands. His hand was holding her left hand. In her mind, him doing the image replayed slowly.

He continued to tap her hand until the lightbulb went off. Her mouth dropped open. He was doing it with his left hand while she had done it with right hand. She wasn’t sure if she was more upset with him or herself.

She made eye contact with him again as he was taking another sip of his wine. “That’s ridiculous!”

He chuckled as he finally let her hand go. Instantly, her hand was cold and she missed his touch. “Finally got it, huh?”

“I don’t know whether I’m madder at you for that stupid detail or at myself for not realizing it,” she grumbled into her drink and took a long drink of it.

He laughed more as he sat back a bit, facing the fire now. He told her, “You should’ve seen Bellamy’s reaction when he first learned it. Didn’t talk to me for the rest of the day.”

“You have that effect on people,” she commented.

He smirked as he took another drink. She watched him, mind getting off track easily. She watched as his swallowed the wine. She watched him lick his lips afterwards. She watched as he ran a hand through his beard to scratch it.

“So,” he said, “how does it feel to finally be a winner?”

Her eyes had wandered to his hair by now. It was dry by now from the game aftermath and looked soft as ever. Her mind went to when she had ran her hand through it.

“Just as good as your hair felt.”

Silence fell between them as Abby took another drink from her wine. She could feel it spreading throughout her body. She had better slow down before she did or said something she regretted.

She looked over to Marcus, wondering why it fell quiet and froze. He was staring at her intently, more so than he was before. His eyes were unreadable.

Wait a minute. Abby retraced their conversation. Her eyes widened and she felt herself pale.

 _Shit_. Had she really said that out loud? Well, too late on not saying anything she would regret.

She cleared her throat, thankful the fire was already giving a glow to her cheeks to hide the heat rushing to them now. She took one last long drink from her wine before telling him, “I need to use the bathroom.”

He didn’t say anything as she set the glass down and held the jacket tighter to her. His eyes followed every move she made, making her self-conscious. She needed to leave the vicinity immediately before she did something else she would regret.

She hurried off away from the campfire and up to the porch. From there, she entered the house. Marcus stayed seated as he watched her leave.

His hand was still tingling from their contact earlier. His body was warm from it as well. His heart was racing slightly as her words kept ringing in his mind.

He knew he shouldn’t follow her but his brain was a bit mushy and all he could think about was _her­._ Whether it was her teasing him, her wiping the wine from his chin, her in his leather jacket, or her hands in his hair, it was all _her_.

Mind made up, he stood, abandoning the wine bottle and wine glasses. His mind was focused on one thing, one person. He started after her.

Raven, Octavia, and Clarke watched as Marcus moved with determination towards the house. Raven crossed her arms over her chest and commented, “Oh, your dad is _so_ about to make a move.”

Octavia was grinning and high-fived Clarke. She told Raven, “I hope you like doing algebra and history!”

+

Abby stood in the hallway where his bathroom was.

She just needed space. She needed to breathe. She needed to be alone. If she was left alone, she could get her brain back on track and not make any more mistakes tonight.

Those hopes were shattered when she heard the glass sliding door from the kitchen open. “Abby?” His familiar voice called out.

 _Great_.

Immediately, she ran into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Good job, Abby. Way to make it obvious.

She stayed silent though, heart pounding in her chest. She could hear his footsteps getting closer to the bathroom. They didn’t sound hesitant, making her heart race more.

Soon, the footsteps died outside the bathroom door. A soft knock was heard, followed by his voice asking again, “Abby?”

Him just saying her name sent the heat coursing through her again. She was too hot now. She still wore the leather jacket though. It felt like a shield.

After a shaky breath, she answered, “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Alright,” was his only response.

She waited to hear retreating footsteps, something indicating he was giving her space. They were faint but she heard footsteps move away from the door.

She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She leaned on the countertop for support, looking in the mirror at her reflection. Her cheeks were flushed with warmth and her eyes slightly dilated.

She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. She stretched out her fingers a couple times. She titled her head to both sides, cracking her neck slightly. She closed her eyes for a minute. Her mind was starting to calm down from panic mode.

When she opened her eyes, they fell on a razor sitting on the countertop. She reached out and grabbed it. Immediately, the image of her wiping the wine off his chin flashed in her mind.

She dropped the razor back on the countertop, her mind beginning to race again, heart following in suit.

She reached up and slowly rubbed her temples. She was _fine_. Whatever this tension was between them, it was normal. She blamed it on the wine mainly.

Taking another deep breath, she turned the sink on. She splashed cold water on her face. It burned against her hot skin.

She turned the sink off and slightly dabbed her face dry with a towel. The distinct smell of _him_ entered her senses and it sent her heart racing again. _She was fine_.

She looked to the door knob as she hung the towel back up. _He_ would be waiting outside for her and whatever else was awaiting her. The thought made her nervous but excited at the same time.

Slowly, she reached out and grabbed the door knob. She twisted it, feeling her heartbeat go faster every second that passed. _She was fine_.

She proceeded to open the door and step outside. It felt like she was stepping out into no man’s land in a war. She didn’t know where to tread, afraid one wrong step would set off a landmine. _She was fine_.

Her eyes were trained to the floor and the first thing they found of _him_ was his boots. One was on the floor, the other propping _him_ up against the wall. Her eyes traveled upwards past his jeans, his shirt, until she came up to see his face.

He was stroking his beard, nerves wrecking his own core. The light of the bathroom flooding the hallway caught his attention and he looked up to see _her_. _Her_ in his jacket, _her_ with her cheeks flushed, _her_ biting her lip as she traveled her eyes up to meet his.

The two stared at each other in silence. Both felt the tension, both knew it. The only question that remained was who was going to do _what_ about it?

Marcus broke the silence by asking, “We didn’t run out of toilet paper, did we?”

Abby’s lip twitched, a small smile forming. “No,” she told him, humor lacing her voice the slightest. He smiled a bit back.

Silence fell between them again. Marcus reached up and scratched the back of his neck, nerves spreading throughout his body. He felt her eyes watching the movement, burning into him.

“Are you alright?” He asked, deciding to get to the point.

Abby was silent for a while as she watched him. His eyes were as nervous as hers. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands as they kept scratching at the back of his neck or beard. Her mind wandered to the image of his hands running across other body parts- body parts of _hers_.

She took a step forward, towards _him_. His eyes instantly caught the movement and latched onto hers. The look in his eyes made her heart race more. There was a storm brewing in them, telling her she was the only way to calm it down.

Another step.

Was she fine? She kept telling herself she was, but was that the truth? Her mind kept repeating the phrase but she couldn’t feel it. All she could feel was the heat _he_ was bringing her.

Another step.

The jacket fell off her shoulders and slowly slid to the ground. She watched his eyes slowly follow it but they immediately came back to hers. The storm got more violent, eyes focusing solely on her.

Another step and now she was right in front of him.

She could hear his breathing turn erratic, see his eyes flicker down to her lips as he licked his own, and see his fingers twitch towards her. It sent her mind into another whirlwind.

Was she fine? No, not in the slightest bit. Not until _he_ made her fine.

She wasn’t sure who moved first but all that mattered was that they moved. He bent down and she got up on her toes. Her hands reached up to grab his collar and his hand came up to cradle her head. They met halfway, either her lips touching his first or his touching hers first. Neither cared about that. They just cared that their lips were finally on each other’s.

It wasn’t like a first kiss was supposed to be- hesitant and testing the waters. It was passionate, each of them pouring the past five years of each other into it. It was fast, it was hot, and it was _everything_.

Abby could taste the wine on his lips. She would be lying if she said it didn’t taste better off them than it did from the bottle. It tasted unique, it tasted like _him._ She couldn’t get enough.

It didn’t take long for either of them to deepen the kiss, earning a sound of approval from Marcus when her hand found its way into his hair. Her fingers got lost in the soft strands, curling her hand into them and slightly tugging at the end. The strangled noise that escaped Marcus’ throat in response sent flames through her core.

Her back hit the wall as Marcus backed her up. His hand had found her ponytail and he ripped it out, letting her hair fall down. Immediately, he buried his hand into the golden brown strands, his other hand skimming down her back. The action caused her to arch the slightest into him, causing friction between the two. Both let out a sound of reaction, causing the kiss to get more frantic.

Her hand found its way through his hair, making a mess of it. Marcus didn’t care. His focus was on _her_ and her lips against his. His mind was focused solely on _her_ and how good she felt in his hands.

Soon, her hand left his hair and found her next target. It softly landed on his cheek, fingers immediately running through his beard. Her mind blanked the slightest at the feeling under hand, then it wandered to other possibilities of where his beard may touch next.

Without warning, he broke off the kiss, peppering her jawline with tiny kisses. Abby was out of breath and invited them, her free hand not in his beard going back in the mess of his hair, gripping the strands tightly.

He made his way down her jawline, using his hand in her hair to open her neck to him. He trailed wet kisses down her throat, breathing heavily himself. She tugged at his hair in response, earning another strangled groan from him.

He traveled his lips back up her neck to the soft spot below her ear. He put a lingering kiss there, earning a rough groan of his name. He smirked as he made his way back to her lips, giving her another earth shattering kiss.

Her hand continued to stroke his beard, loving the feeling of it under her hand. His own hands were on her body now, roaming as he pulled her against him. He broke from the kiss for a moment as he trailed more kisses along her jawline.

“I thought you hated the beard?”

The question caught her off guard a bit. Her mind was in a haze of bliss, it didn’t want to think, it just wanted to do. She panted a bit to catch her breath and told him as she stroked it, “I lied.”

“I know,” he answered a bit _too_ cocky.

“What do you mean you know?”

Her mind was focused on his lips at her collarbone and his hand making its way under her shirt. He made his way back up to her eye level and told her, “I saw you steal my razor that night.”

Maybe she wasn’t as slick as she thought she was. Oh well, it worked didn’t it? He wasn’t shaving.

“I was doing you a favor,” she replied, eyes focused on his lips. Why were they talking? They could talk later. All she wanted to do was kiss him.

“If this is the favor,” he stated as his hand skimmed her back, his hand sending shivers up her spine and to her toes, “then you should’ve stolen it years ago.”

Her back arched the slightest at his touch, crushing her against his body which were already mashed together. The friction caused both to bite their lips and she heard Marcus’ breathing pick up.

“Patience is a virtue,” she told him, hand tracing his jawline, eyes still focused on his lips.

He chuckled and it sent her mind into another frenzy. His hand on her back kept her close as he bent down and whispered into her ear with a rough voice, “I don’t plan on being patient with you tonight.”

The words sent a chill throughout at the same time as heat found its way leaking from her core to her entire body. The words excited her. Her other hand, in his hair, tightened and held him in place by her ear. She turned her head, lips by his ear and she whispered, “Then what are you waiting for?”

The words ignited a challenge in him, hand tightening on her back. He pulled back from her ear and looked into her eyes. He saw the challenge in them, no regrets or hesitation. His other hand came from her hip and held her chin.

Both of their hearts were racing. Whatever this tension was, it was taking over them. After tonight, there would be no turning a cold shoulder to it. They would’ve broke through the wall, seeing the other on the other side. None of that mattered in the moment. It would be dealt with after.

He began to lower his head to hers, her eyes closing in anticipation. A cough from beside them made them freeze.

Abby wasn’t sure what made her face red: the heat from their moment or the embarrassment she was now feeling. She was so lost in the moment she forgot they were out in the open hallway. She didn’t want to look over and see who had caught them.

Marcus looked over though to see Indra standing at the opening into the kitchen from the hallway. She had her arms crossed over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him when he made eye contact with her. She told them, “The fire was going out so some of the kids asked for me to get you to put more wood in it. Seems like you’re a little busy at the moment though.”

Abby’s face flushed more and she hit her head against Marcus’ chest, hiding her face in it. His hand that was still on her back began to rub comforting circles into it. “I’ll be out there in a minute,” he told Indra, his voice still rough on the edges.

“Mhmm, sure,” she replied, “take your time. But, if Murphy starts playing with the fire, you have only yourself to blame.”

Indra left them on that note and neither of them moved. Soon, they heard the glass sliding door open and close, indicating she was outside again.

They didn’t look at each other right away, the events of a few minutes ago rushing back into their mind. Stolen kisses, faint touches, and whispered words. What had they done?

He finally looked down to her, an emotion swarming in his eyes that made her heart jump. He told her, “As much as I want to continue whatever just happened, I don’t think anyone outside would be able to handle Murphy with fire.”

She laughed and smiled up to him. “Understandable,” she agreed.

“But before I go…” he mumbled as his hand that had been on her chin came to cradle her head as he buried his fingers in her hair. He brought her up to his lips, stealing a long, slow kiss. She didn’t argue, she answered the same.

When he pulled back, Abby’s heart was fluttering. She was in awe as she stared up to him. The kiss wasn’t passionate like the one the shared moments ago. It was lingering on her lips and seeping its way into her bloodstream and aiming for her heart.

“I’d hate to interrupt,” another voice said, spooking them, “but if I don’t use the bathroom right now, I’m sure Coach Marcus won’t be happy about cleaning up my accident on his kitchen floor.”

Both heads swiveled to see Raven standing in the hallway, grinning mischievously at the two. Immediately, the two separated from each other. It was too late though, Raven had seen the kiss.

Marcus coughed and nodded towards the bathroom, telling her, “We’re done here.”

“Are you really?” She teased the two as she walked by. She winked at the two before entering the bathroom, adding, “Keep it PG, will ya?”

And with that, Raven shut the door, leaving the two adults standing there in embarrassment and astonishment.


	12. The calm before the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When kabby is the guy mowing his lawn during a tornado and “keeping an eye on it”

Abby didn’t know what she and Marcus were anymore.

They weren’t a thing but they weren’t nothing either. Does that make sense? Abby didn’t think so either.

They hadn’t spoke about the incident in the hallway of his house from that night. It’s been a week and they’ve seen each other three times since then. Twice at practice and once at their game yesterday.

Nothing was really different. The looks, the stolen glances, hidden touches, and snarky remarks were the most affected. The tension and meaning in each changed ever so slightly since that night.

The biggest glaring moment of the change was the first practice back since that night. Somehow Marcus had caught wind that Abby had a part in his pennies’ disappearance and confronted her before practice. It’s quite rude to corner someone right outside the bathroom might Abby add.

They were having their typical argument while making snide remarks at each other. What was different was it didn’t end with Abby flipping him off behind his back like usual. It ended up with Abby against the wall and their lips on each other’s once again.

A short make out session never hurt no one, right? Practice just started late, that’s all. Harmless.

That was the only other intimate incident between the two. They didn’t say anything of it either. They went on normally, practice was focused on their game plans with including the three Grounders.

The only thing Abby did know what she and Marcus were was that they were winning. They had won their game against the Flames yesterday and were about to play the Spacewalkers on this Sunday evening. Their record so far was 2-2-0 (two wins, two losses, and zero ties).

The kids were currently warming up as Abby scouted the Spacewalkers. The Spacewalkers usually landed in the middle of the league every year. Some years they would get into the playoffs, some years they wouldn’t.

They weren’t a terrible team but they weren’t Mount Weather good either. Well, no team in Arkadia’s rec league was, but the point was that they were average. The Lifesavers and Assassins never stood a chance against them, but the Delinquents may.

Abby looked from her spot on the bench to where Marcus was instructing Wells a bit in goal. Lexa was with them, warming him up with a few shots. The other kids were doing a passing drill.

Abby shifted her attention to Marcus’ new marker board. It seemed he had taken her advice and bought a more quality board, with a few extra markers to have separate colors. No more hair gel meant he had the extra money to spend.

A sudden shadow fell across the marker board in her hands and she looked behind her, confused. That confusion quickly turned into annoyance. She turned back to her marker board, ignoring him.

He walked around anyway and took a seat by her. He sat back, placing his hands beside him as he watched her team warm up. His mere presence was annoying her. She could hear him take a deep breath and exhale it loudly. It annoyed her. He knew it did.

He didn’t look to her as he asked her, “Great day for soccer, isn’t it?”

She gave him the same answer she had the first time, “Every day is a great day for soccer, Cage.”

He smiled big and finally looked over to her as she looked up from the marker board to him. He had _that_ smile on again and Abby immediately regretted responding to him. He looked back to her team warming up and said, “Don’t doubt it.”

It fell silent between them as Abby tried to focus on the marker board, but she had long forgotten why she had originally grabbed it. She finally put it off to the side, in between them, and examined his choice of a suit today.

It was a pale yellow one. It reminded her of mustard, even being pale. Abby hated mustard, and she hated Cage. It fit hand in hand.

“What do you want, Cage?” She asked, hoping he would leave soon. Their game would start in a few minutes.

He shrugged and finally looked over to her, catching her gaze. “Just enjoying the weather.”

“And can’t you do that, I don’t know, anywhere but here?” She would prefer if he did it in another state or country but she’ll settle for anywhere but her bench.

He chuckled and ignored her. It raised curiosity in her. Usually, he would either make a retort or get upset with her tactics. He did neither. He just went back to watching her team.

Suddenly, he said, “It must suck.”

She was caught off guard by his comment as she focused on him again. “What must suck?”

“Being the lesser of the two coaches,” he told her.

She fell silent, certainly not expecting that. What the _fuck_. “Excuse me?” She asked, disgust and anger seeping its way into her words.

He didn’t give her a glance, his gaze staying focused on the Delinquents and Marcus. “You know,” he said, “that you’re still not as good as Marcus.”

Her hands curled into fists beside her. She hadn’t punched Cage this year yet- ‘yet’ being the key word. He was _this_ close to getting ketchup splattered on his mustard suit.

She remembered Indra’s words from their mini lecture. Marcus and Abby weren’t separate anymore. They were one. They ran the team together. Neither out ranked the other.

“That’s not true,” she bit back. “I contribute just as much as he does and it’s just as good as his.”

“Truly?” He questioned her. He turned to look to her again, nodding towards the warm up. “Then why aren’t you out there helping with warm up?”

Her gaze flickered to where now all the kids were taking shots on Wells. Marcus had told her he would handle warm up today so she could scout the other team’s warm up. She told Cage that as she looked back to him. “I was told to scout the other team.”

Cage laughed and shook his head. Abby felt the anger in he rise more. However, she also felt the nerves settling in. Why was she nervous?

“And for what reason?” He asked her, smiling _that_ smile again. “Other than to keep you out of warm ups, that is.”

Her fingers twitched a bit but those nerves started to expand through her. There was no real reason for her to scout the team all warm up. They knew the team, they’ve been versing them for the past five years.

When she didn’t answer, his smile grew a bit and he chuckled again. “Thought so.”

It was silent between them again as Abby began to overthink the situation. Marcus wasn’t trying to secretly keep more control, was he? Was he doing it so subtle that she didn’t notice?

It was a ridiculous thought. Marcus was horrible at being discrete. Abby was always able to see through his bullshit.

But what if it was different this time?

Cage egged her thoughts on by asking, “And what about the formation change? The warm up game? I know he hates it but he changed it for you.” A little hope soared in Abby that her thoughts were wrong. “But how much control did you _really_ have in those decisions? I mean, they only happened because Marcus finally caved.”

The little hope was instantly crushed.

Abby wanted to argue with him like she usually did, but she couldn’t find a counterpoint. Abby reflected back on the decision of a formation change and doing sharks and minnows. Abby got to do them when Marcus got tired of her begging or felt he needed to change it up. She never did it because she wanted, she did it because he allowed her to do it.

Cage _was_ right.

Cage knew he had her. He used it to his advantage, egging on, “He has the true power in this duo you call ‘coaching’. It may seem like you have equal control, but really, he’s the leader. If he wants it, he’ll do it. If not, it won’t happen.”

Abby stayed silent as the words sunk in. She wasn’t sure what emotion she felt most. She felt angry, upset, and nervous. She couldn’t decide who she was angrier at: Marcus or Cage.

Cage kept talking, his eyes never leaving her now. “And you wanna know why that is?” She really didn’t. “Probably because he stills see you as the coach of the Lifesavers, the coach that never won a game. It’s hard to trust a coach and her decisions when they don’t produce any results.”

Any bit of self-esteem Abby had built up from their past two wins instantly vanished. Did she really contribute anything to make the team win? Sure, it was her idea to bring the three Grounders to the team, but that wasn’t really her contributing anything of her own to improve the team.

Cage sighed, content with himself. He finally looked back to the sky, a slow, hot wind passing by. He watched the clouds, commenting, “But, it’s still a great day for soccer, isn’t it?”

“Every day…” Abby mumbled in response, eyes trained on Marcus and the kids.

Cage smiled large at her. He stood then, rotating his head to crack his neck. He fixed his suit jacket and told her, “Seems like a storm is rolling in. Let’s hope you get the game in before it hits.”

There was a double meaning behind his words but Abby didn’t bother to nitpick it at the moment. Her brain was too busy focusing on Marcus on the past week. Did he really still have control of the team? Was Cage right?

Cage left her then as Alie blew the whistle, indicating that the game would start soon.

Abby stayed in her position on the bench, looking at the grass between her feet now. She didn’t know how to react.

Cage was known for bullshitting, but the evidence for his newest accusation was right there. Abby saw what Cage pointed out and now she couldn’t get it out of her head.

Suddenly, a new shadow fell across her line of vision. Familiar boots also appeared in the grass before her. She didn’t look up and she didn’t dignify him with a greeting.

He didn’t seem to notice anything was off and kicked her one foot, telling her, “Come on, the game’s going to start.”

She looked up to him then, seeing a small smile on his lips. Cage flashed in her mind and his words replayed in her head. She stood up without a word and walked towards the sideline.

He followed her, worry adorning his features. He asked, “Abby?”

She looked to him over her shoulder, not answering him with words but a raised eyebrow.

He came to stand by her as Alie blew the whistle. The game began as he said, “I saw Cage over here. What did he want?”

 _To tell me the truth_ , rang in her mind almost instantly. She kept the thought down and instead replied, “His usual tactics. He was being an asshole.”

Marcus laughed and commented, “Being as ridiculous as his suit, I assume?”

Abby’s lip twitched the slightest into a smile. Almost instantly, she replied, “Not as ridiculous as your hair.”

It was blown askew from the wind. It looked messy and unkempt. Abby had no problem with it, she actually liked the scruffy look on him. It almost made the image of the controlling coach he was seem not plausible.

But, apparently, it was still there.

He smirked that smirk once again and looked down to her. His brushed his arm against hers as he shifted positions. Immediately, a spark ignited a fire throughout her. He whispered so only she could hear, “You’ve done worse.”

Oh, Abby knows she has.

Marcus’ hair was a mess after the hallway incident. Even after the small moment by the bathrooms had left Marcus with a bad case of bedhead. She loved his hair, what could she say?

She decided to ignore the jab and focus on the game. They had their signature backline of Raven, Murphy, and Miller with Wells in goal. Right now, in the midfield, they had Lexa on the left, Gaia in the center, and Harper on the right. Clarke was the lone forward. They were playing in Abby’s 3-3-1.

The conversation with Cage re-entered her mind. She looked over to Marcus who was stroking his beard as he examined the game.

Her formation was successful the past two games. She wouldn’t doubt it would be successful this game either. She also knew they would get a more powerful punch up top if they went back to a 3-2-2. Either formation would be fine for them in the long run.

However, hers was the best one since they had practiced all their game plays in it. Switching it up may confuse the kids at first and it may take them time to readjust. It would be effective in the end, but the possibilities for screw ups in that transition were plenty.

Abby decided to test it by asking Marcus, “What if went back into a 3-2-2?”

He was caught off guard by the question and looked down to her. He said, “You bugged me for weeks to change to this formation and you want to change it back?”

She shrugged and explained, “Just wondering what if we did. Do you think we’d get more offensive moments?”

He looked to field where Raven was playing the ball to Gaia in the middle. From there, she passed out to Lincoln who found Murphy up the line again. It was the simple combination play the two had taught the kids.

Their strategy was working and they were keeping possession beside the familiar mistakes made by the kids. There was no reason to switch the formation to a more offensive one unless they needed to press for goals.

“We don’t need that,” he told her.

Abby felt the dread begin to creep through her. Cage’s mocking smile and laugh entered her mind and she crossed her arms, one hand holding tightly onto the other arm. She asked, “And what if I wanted to do it anyways?”

Marcus was truly confused. Abby had pushed and pushed for her formation and now she suddenly wanted to go back to the old one. Hers was working, not that Marcus liked to admit it, so why would she want to change it?

“No,” he told her again. He saw he grip on her arm tighten as she looked out to the field. He explained, “Why would we change a formation that’s working? It’s giving us results.”

To prove his point, Gaia had found Lexa behind the defense again. Lexa beat the goalie and slotted the ball into the back of the net, making the Delinquents gain a goal. It was 1-0.

It didn’t escape Abby’s attention that reasoning was the same one he gave her before with not changing from the 3-2-2.

“Just making sure you were truly changing like Indra suggested,” Abby teased him.

He raised an eyebrow down to her and chuckled slightly. “I could say the same to you,” he responded as he turned to the bench to inform the other kids who they were going in for.

Abby didn’t find the humor in the joke. She felt the anger building up, Cage’s words pounding in her head. If Abby called out right now to change the formation, she knew he would instruct the kids to stay where they were. And who they listen to?

Certainly not her, as she was the coach who didn’t win games before. They would listen to Marcus, who was actually a coach.

Abby found her gaze drifting to the man in the pale yellow suit, who was leaning against the same tree he had weeks ago. Then, he had been upset with her and she felt triumph. Now, it felt flipped.

He was wearing his arrogant smile and she felt defeated, like she was shoved back to the bottom of the standings. And who had done that again? Cage himself.

Her eyes drifted to Marcus, who was instructing Bellamy on a play with Lincoln on his marker board. Marcus too had indirectly shoved her back down there.

+

“Mom! I’m going to the concessions with Raven and Octavia!”

“Alright,” Abby answered her daughter as she packed up the equipment bag.

Their game against the Spacewalkers had just ended. They won 3-1. The Spacewalker’s goal was on a mistake of Harper being too close to Monty’s side when she was the center midfielder. That left the middle open and left Murphy vulnerable in a 2v1 situation.

You could guess his temper got the best of him and he was over physical, easily being beat, leaving Wells in a 2v1. Poor Wells didn’t stand a chance.

Marcus made his way over to Abby, smiling and told her, “One more win and we’ll secure a spot in the playoffs.”

She zipped her bag shut and looked up to him. She said, “And we play the two teams sitting above us in the standings.”

“Nothing the Delinquents can’t handle.”

She nodded and put her bag on her shoulder. She didn’t respond. Cage’s words hadn’t left her all game and she was mostly silent on the sideline. It didn’t escape Marcus’ attention.

He reached out, hand slightly brushing up against hers, fingers tapping at hers. “Hey,” he asked, “is everything okay?”

There was genuine concern in his voice and it took all of Abby’s strength to not grab his hand and squeeze it until all her fears were gone. She was afraid Cage was right and that Marcus was treating her like a lesser of the two. She didn’t want to believe it.

“You were fine before Cage came over,” he added. His fingers lightly grabbed onto hers and her own tightened around his. He asked, “Was it something he said?”

It was like Marcus could see through her bullshit as well. She gathered herself before turning to finally look at him. The genuine concern in his eyes almost broke her but she told him, “I’m fine, Marcus.”

He frowned and examined her face, looking for any trace of a lie. He knew she wasn’t but he wasn’t going to push it unless she wanted to talk about it. He nodded and whispered to her, “If I need to kick his ass or spill more cranberry juice on his ridiculous suits, you let me know.”

She chuckled, genuinely this time. “Not if I don’t do it first,” she told him while winking.

He laughed and smiled at her. It was warm and welcoming. A few weeks ago, Abby would’ve never thought Marcus would direct a smile like that at her. Besides the fact Abby didn’t think Marcus knew how to smile like that.

His fingertips moved to lightly brush against hers in a comforting motion as their hands fell apart. She offered him a small smile back as she turned away to go get Clarke who was running over to her.

Marcus watched as they walked off to her car. He wanted Abby to be happy and he wasn’t sure what was wrong. His eyes caught sight of an ugly pale yellow suit walking towards the parking lot. He may not know what was wrong with Abby but he knew the bastard in the ugly suit had a part in it.

Octavia broke him from his thoughts as she ran up to him, ice cream in hand. He raised an eyebrow in question at her. He told her, “Ice cream? I didn’t give you money to buy anything.”

Octavia grinned, ice cream stained teeth flashing at him. He saw the mischievous glint in her eyes as she told him, “Raven was nice enough to buy Clarke and I some!"


	13. One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> that tornado kabby is “keeping an eye on”??? yeah, it’s getting closer

Good things never last forever. If they did, there wouldn’t be a story to tell.

Abby sure wished she had gotten her happy ending already. Apparently, God had other ideas in store for her.

They were supposed to play their sixth game of the season against Alpha Station yesterday on Saturday, but the game got delayed till Sunday morning due to bad storms.

Why was that a bad thing? Because Indra had told Marcus and Abby that Sunday mornings were blocked off for their church commitments. That means the three Grounders wouldn’t be attending today’s game.

It wasn’t from a lack of trying and begging from the two either. Marcus had even gotten on his knees when he was on the phone with Indra.

But Indra stuck to her word and told them that church was first. There was no way around it. The Delinquents would have to play without the three this game.

Abby’s not sure how fair God was being either. Like, really, making the Delinquents play without the Grounders for when they verse the third best team in the league?

Like she said before, Abby wished she already had her happy ending so she didn’t have to go through this shit.

 _And_ she was pretty sure Cage had a hand in the weather. Yeah, she knows that’s impossible but she’s almost certain he found a way to make it storm Saturday.

Why you ask? The little shit walked up to them after the phone call with Indra was made. He was wearing that arrogant smile and a pale pink suit. He asked them as he walked up, “Where are the Delinquents?”

Both were confused as the team was warming up behind them, quiet visible to him. Abby not so nicely pointed it out by saying, “Are you blind? They’re right there.”

He had his retort ready and well-rehearsed. He snapped back, “I meant the three players that actually _do_ things for the team. The players that actually know how to play soccer.”

All Abby has to say in reflection of that conversation was that Cage was lucky Marcus was there to hold her back. If not, she would’ve gotten her yearly punch in then. A nice new shade of red would’ve been added to his pink suit.

When Cage walked away and was far away enough, Marcus finally let her go. She was still fuming and kicked at the ground a bit. She told him, “That bastard! I bet he had something to do with this.”

Marcus watched her with a bit of humor in his eyes. “No matter how much influence he has in this league,” he informed her, “I don’t think he can influence the weather.”

Abby knew that, she really did, but what if? Crazier shit _has_ happened. Hell, the Delinquents won not only one game, but three. No one had seen that coming, who is to say Cage can’t control the weather?

Well, logic did, but Abby didn’t care for logic right now. She only cared about her fist having its annual meeting with Cage’s face.

She hadn’t forgotten their conversation from last weekend either. Abby still felt a lingering of resentment for Marcus in those regards but she wouldn’t let it stop her from making the team successful. It wasn’t blatant or a problem, so there was no reason to act out on it.

The Grounder kids were keeping the peace between the two. They were making the team successful so there was no reason for them to bicker over who was doing a better job as a coach. Without those kids here, they would be really tested.

Marcus was watching the kids warm up, arms crossed over his chest. He told Abby, “They got this.”

She looked up to him from beside him. “You really think so?”

He shrugged and explained, “Even though they rely on the Grounders to execute the game plans, they know them. They should be able to execute them without them.”

‘Should be’ was the key phrase there. Did that mean it was going to happen? Probably not but Abby would take a leap of faith. Let’s call it hope, right?

Who knows, maybe her happy ending was right around the corner after this game.

+

Abby couldn’t be more wrong.

It seemed Abby would have to be dragged through Hell and back before she reached that happy ending. She went through Hell for five years, had a break for two weeks, and now was suddenly back in it.

Abby had to give them a little credit though. They weren’t losing _that_ bad. You know, as good as a 0-7 loss can get.

Raven didn’t dive in every tackle, hell, she made one really impressive tackle at the beginning of the game. It made her a bit cocky and she thought it would happen every time. That was her mistake as she began to dive in every other tackle, easily getting beaten.

Murphy didn’t have a good past with the Alpha Station kids. It was his old team before he moved to the Delinquents two years ago. Sure, he didn’t help matters with his attitude, but they continuously picked on him. They knew how to rile him up and every game against them, Murphy would get a yellow card.

Last year, he fought a kid on the field. The player had tripped Murphy blatantly and Alie had called the foul but Murphy had been tripped all game at that point. He decided he had enough and tackled the kid to the ground. To say the least, the kid walked away from that game supporting a black eye while Murphy earned his first ever red card.

In Murphy’s exact words, it was, “Well worth being grounded for two weeks.”

Today was no exception. Murphy was marking their top player, Atom, all game. It wasn’t working out too well as Atom had scored three goals already. Every time he scored, Atom would look at Murphy and just laugh as he would high five his teammates.

Wells had come up to him after the third goal Atom had scored and told him, “Don’t worry about it, Murphy.”

Murphy wasn’t pleased with his brother trying to play down his mistake and spat back, “Maybe I wouldn’t have to if you had my back.”

Wells immediately shrank back and walked away from his brother without another word. Abby was almost sure Murphy gave Wells a hard time because Murphy was insecure about his abilities due to his past with Alpha Station.

He’s only hard on his brother when he was messing up and Wells would try to cheer him up. He projects his anger onto Wells since he doesn’t know how else to handle it. He does it to protect his “big brother” and “tough” reputation.

With the constant bickering he does at Wells, Wells doesn’t feel like he can be good enough. He loses his confidence quickly when he can’t live up to his brother’s expectations.

Wells admitted to Abby once that he looks up to Murphy in a way. He told her that Wells was impressed with how Murphy put up with the players on Alpha Station for so many years and finally told their dad he wanted to switch teams. Wells explained it gave him the courage to tell his dad he didn’t want to baseball but that he wanted to do soccer with Murphy.

What Murphy would never admit but Abby knew was that Murphy would protect his younger brother from any opposing player. He may tease and ridicule Wells nonstop, but the moment someone on the other team did it, Murphy’s “big brother” reputation overtook his “tough” one.

And that’s what happened today.

When Wells was walking back to the goal after trying to comfort Murphy about Atom’s third goal, the two heard Atom laugh. They both looked to him and Atom smirked at the older brother. He told him, “He couldn’t have the Lifesavers’ back for two years, what makes you think he’ll have yours now?”

Murphy didn’t respond at first. If Murphy was good at something, it was waiting for the right moment to do something. Maybe he could teach Raven that.

He waited until Atom thought he got the last word in and laughed at his own comment, a few of his teammates joining in. He waited until Wells lost more confidence and sulked back to his goal. He waited until Atom turned his back to him.

Then Murphy snapped.

He ran (faster than Abby’s _ever_ him seen him run while doing suicides) at Atom and tackled him from behind. He yanked him to the floor, his back hitting the ground with a hard _thud_. Murphy immediately jumped on him, swinging.

Atom’s teammates tried to peel him off him while Alie ran over to control the situation. From the sideline, Abby was pretty sure she heard Cece cheering Murphy on. She also thought she heard an Alpha Station parent yell, “Get that monster off my child!”

In the background Abby was also pretty sure she heard Roan yell back, “The monster is on the ground.”

When they finally peeled Murphy off Atom, he was smirking down to the terrified boy. He asked him, “Who’s got your back now? Seems to me it’s just the ground.”

Alie presented him with a red card as Wells was grinning from his goal, hearing the words. Murphy shrugged the players off him as he sauntered off the field, unbothered.

Jaha looked up from his phone, missing the whole ordeal. He saw Alie putting her red card away as Murphy finally reached the bench. He sighed, not surprised, asking him, “Should I be concerned?”

“Not at all,” Murphy replied as he sat on the bench.

Due to Murphy’s outburst, they now had to play a man down for the rest of the game. That didn’t help their already failing situation.

Miller was being Miller. He must’ve been upset with Murphy and his outburst and screwing them over in the back because he didn’t try very hard for the rest of the game at defending. His grudge cost them two more goals in the end.

Without Gaia, Harper was thrown back into the center midfield. Harper found herself naturally drifting towards Monty’s side again, leaving Jasper or Octavia vulnerable on their side, depending who was on the field at the time.

Without Gaia to guide Jasper to stay on his side of the field, he ran all over the place again. This made it hard for Harper to switch the ball like the game plans had shown them. If Jasper wasn’t making the run Lexa usually made behind the backline, then the whole game plan wasn’t going to work.

Monty couldn’t find Clarke checking into space because Jasper would end up by where Clarke was, drawing too many defenders. He didn’t know what to do with the ball and it would result in the ball being stolen from him.

Clarke was having a hard time directing the team from the front line as she mainly had to wait for the play to build from the back before it reached her. Only then could she help with directing the ball. She usually relied on Lincoln to help as he would be in the backline.

When Octavia and Bellamy were subbed in, it got even worse. There was no one to direct the team at all as Bellamy felt the urgency to _score, score, and score._ He disregarded every game plan he was taught and went with what he thought would work aka him taking on the entire team.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t work.

Poor Octavia relied on Clarke for confidence and guidance. And when she wasn’t out there, she looked to Lincoln for it. Right now, she had neither so she didn’t know what to do. In fact, she did know, she just didn’t have the confidence to do it. She needed the push and her usual support wasn’t there to give it to her.

All in all, it was another shit show.

And Cage was living to see it, Abby could tell that much. It was like he knew something she didn’t and that irked her more. Another thing that irked her was Marcus trying to move Clarke to defense.

“There’s no point,” she had argued with him. It was 0-7 and late in the second half. There was no way the Delinquents were going to pull off a miracle, let alone without the Grounders.

“This is an emergency situation to use that formation,” he argued back.

“Emergency situation?” She mocked, crossing her arms. “Marcus, we’re a man down and losing by seven goals. It’s a lost cause situation.”

He didn’t dignify that with a response. Abby knew it was because he knew she was right. They weren’t going to recover from the 0-7 loss as of right now. They’ve never recovered from a game where the opponent made the score 0-3 by half.

Of course, the opponent usually made it larger than that, but Abby liked to narrow it down.

After one more goal, making it 0-8, Alie blew the final whistle to signal the end of the game. For once, Abby wasn’t throwing a tantrum over the loss. She stood in silence as she watched the kids gather on the line for the hand shake.

Marcus stood by her as well, deep in thought. They were thinking the same: there was a glaring problem with their team. They definitely relied on the Grounders and didn’t think to take the original Delinquents into account.

Another thing they were both thinking about was their record. They were now 3-3-0 (three wins, three losses, and zero ties). That meant they had no more room for another loss. They had to win their next game, their last game of the regular season, against the Reapers.

And the team they were playing was sitting the place above them in the standings. They held the same record as the Delinquents. If they tied, the Reapers would go through based on the tie breaker- goals against. They _had_ to win that last game.

Marcus suddenly told Abby, “Next game is an emergency situation.”

Abby knew where this was going. Abby knew how to argue with Marcus though. Even if he wanted to do what he wanted, she was going to make sure she had her say. She _was_ the Delinquents coach as well.

“And we’ll have the Grounders back for the game,” she replied.

“And what happens if bad storms delay another game?” He shot back.

She turned to look at him this time. She tilted her head to the side asking him, “Why the negative assumption, Marcus? Has Cage rubbed off on you?”

A fire she hadn’t seen in his eyes for a while suddenly burst into flames. They weren’t as intense as they used to be but the kindle was burning, ready to grow if needed. He replied, “I’d rather be prepared than have another surprise thrown at us.”

“We will be prepared,” she told him. “We’ll have the Grounders back and Clarke and Bellamy can work together up top.”

“But if we do the formation,” he pushed the subject, “then we’ll have double coverage in the back with both Lincoln and Clarke. We won’t have to worry about any threat.”

The fire in her began to kindle as well. Without thinking, she asked with a bit of venom in her words, “I said no, but are you going to do it anyways because it’s what _you_ want to do?”

He looked caught off guard, surprise etching itself on his face. “What?” he asked.

“You heard me,” she said, her mind running a hundred miles a second. Her heart was beating fast, her conversation with Cage pounding once again in her mind. “Are you going to put her on defense even though I don’t want to put her there?”

He watched her closely, curiosity and anger mixed in his expression. He told her, “If that decision is what’s best for the team and her, then you shouldn’t be opposed to it.”

It fell silent in between them. It wasn’t a no and it wasn’t a yes, but it definitely leaned more towards a yes. Abby’s hand on her arm tightened the slightest. Irritation burned her skin and spread through her like wild fire.

Had they improved at all from Indra’s lecture? It was the same situation with the Delinquents on the field. It pointed out the flaws the team still had that the Grounders just covered up. With them, the Grounders covered up their flaws because if the team was doing well, there was no reason for the two to argue.

Now that the Grounders were absent, their flaws were again becoming apparent. They were starting to ignite that fire of arguments. They were returning to their rivalry.

There was stare off between the two. The tension between them was crackling to life and not the good kind. Before any argument could happen between the two, Clarke came up to her mom, tugging on her arm. “We have to be back home soon! Or we’ll miss Master Chef!”

Abby wished sometimes she had the guts of Gordon Ramsay. Hell, she’s heard her daughter tell the other kids that Abby is worse than Gordon with her outbursts sometimes. Clarke’s favorite example is when she yelled at Alie for not calling a foul when Bellamy had bulldozed Raven over two years ago. Her exact words were, “How much is he paying you, huh? Can’t be much since he just lost his last case.”

Yeah, Marcus wasn’t happy about that comment. Like, c’mon, it wasn’t his fault his client didn’t want to plead guilty to a crime he obviously committed. Seriously, who types out their whole murder plot out on their computer and prints it out? Then leaves it conveniently out on the coffee table when the police come knocking on your door?

Abby looked down to her daughter and said, “I’ll be right there. Meet you by the car.”

Clarke nodded and ran off with her soccer bag bouncing off her back as she did. Abby watched her before turning back to Marcus.

She waited for a joke about her watching the show to come. It never did. He just kept staring at her as she kept staring at him. She finally told him, “I’ll see you at practice Tuesday.”

“See you then,” was his only response.

She turned and walked off then. He watched her go, feeling his anger boil down the slightest. It was the first time in weeks he had felt resentment towards her. It wasn’t hard for it to rekindle. She _had_ accused him of making decisions without her.

If he knew they would benefit the team, then why wouldn’t he put them into effect? He knew they would work and if Abby would have to pout through it to see it would, then so be it.

Jaha was walking by with his two sons and he caught wind of him telling them, “Well, it was good while it lasted.”

Marcus found a tiny bit of him agreeing with Jaha, which he never saw coming. He could apply it to many things: winning, not arguing with Abby 24/7, and Abby in general.

If you asked him what the moment in his hallway meant, he couldn’t tell you. The tension over the five years slowly built up and met gasoline this year. It finally exploded that night and was stayed lit afterwards.

All he knew was that whatever it was, Abby had the same thoughts of it. They both felt it and they both knew it. They just didn’t know _what_ it was. With what just happened and old flames rekindling, Marcus wasn’t sure if that fire would stay lit very long.

“Rough day, Coach?”

Marcus turned to see Cage walking up to him in his all his glory a pale pink suit could offer. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t very much.

“We’ve had worse,” he replied as he turned his attention to the man. “What do you want, Cage?” He wanted to get straight to the point. The less time he spent talking to him the better.

Cage chuckled a bit and commented, “Straight to the point, I see.” Marcus didn’t dignify him with a response. Time was ticking and Marcus wouldn’t admit it to anyone besides his kids, but he too liked to watch Master Chef.

“I was just observing your game,” _absolute bullshit_ , “when I noticed a little riff between you and Abby a moment ago. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay,” he told him.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at him. Marcus knew he was bullshitting him and Cage probably knew he knew that as well. Cage offered him what was supposed to be a sincere smile but Marcus knew better. He decided to play along though, curious to Cage’s motives.

“Everything is fine,” he replied.

“Is it?” He asked, pushing the subject. “It didn’t look fine. It looked like if Clarke hadn’t walked up when she did, an infamous argument between you two would’ve erupted.”

Marcus couldn’t argue against that. Both of them knew what was going to happen if their conversation continued. Even though Indra was absent, they did make a promise. They had to _try_ and be civil.

“Abby was being Abby,” Marcus told him.

Cage laughed and put his hands in his pants’ pockets. “I’ve heard that many times. What’d she do now?”

His mind flashed to last week when she offered the asinine idea of switching back to their old formation. He told him, “For some reason, last week, she asked about formation change that didn’t seem sensible.”

Cage nodded, raising an eyebrow. “Anything else?”

He nodded and crossed his arms, stroking his beard in thought. “She was in a funk during that whole game,” he pointedly looked at him, “after she had talked to you. If you said anything…”

Cage laughed and shook his head, meeting Marcus’ gaze. Marcus’ wasn’t friendly but Cage didn’t shrink back under it. “I didn’t say anything bad,” he told him. “No need to get boyfriend protective.”

The label caught Marcus off guard so much he took a step back from Cage. “Boyfriend protective?”

Cage raised an eyebrow in response and nodded. Marcus shook his head and told him, “No, no, no. Abby and I…we’re not like that. We’re acquaintances who coach the same team together. That’s it.” His heart screamed against him in argument.

Cage shrugged and said, “Whatever you say. I mean, I wouldn’t call someone who I made out with by the bathrooms an ‘acquaintance’, but you do you.”

Marcus felt his cheeks flush. He remembered that day very well. Marcus would be lying if he said he didn’t get a rush of adrenaline every time they argued. It was a heat of the moment decision when he pushed her up against the wall and claimed her lips with his. She certainly didn’t seem to disagree.

“Back on topic,” Marcus declared as his fixed the collar of his leather jacket, “besides the formation change, she sort of accused me of making decisions without her. She made it seem like I’m trying to keep complete control on the team without her.”

“Are you?” Cage asked.

Marcus looked to him and replied, “Of course not. I listened to her and changed our formation to hers. Hell, I even allowed the game of sharks and minnows to be warm up at practice.”

“Of course you did,” Cage commented, “and any good coach knows to adjust for the best interest in their team. She’s probably just feeling insecure still.”

“Insecure?”

“Yes,” he told him, “about coaching. You _are_ the better coach between the two of you.”

Marcus didn’t respond right away. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Abby brought things to the team that he never could, like having fun and enjoying the game. She could do that for his daughter in a few practices when he couldn’t do it in five years.

“That’s not true,” Marcus shook his, “Abby brought forth the formation change and sharks and minnows. They worked and helped our team win.”

“Did they really?” Cage questioned. Marcus looked down to him as Cage shrugged, adding, “They proved to work when the Grounders were here. Today, without them, it proved it didn’t work. Has her contributions really done anything for the team?”

Marcus looked to the parking lot where Abby was shutting the back end of her car. She climbed in behind the wheel and drove off. He waited till her car was out of view before he looked back to Cage.

Cage continued on, “She never won a game until you came onto her bench. You have won, even if it’s just one game. Her ideas aren’t working without those three kids. Your ideas have worked before without them. You _are_ the reason the Delinquents are winning.”

Marcus couldn’t find himself disagreeing with the statement 100%. He knew he brought the winning side of the team when they first merged. He knew he had the advantage on Abby with coaching. Even if her ideas had worked with the Grounders, they obviously didn’t work for the Delinquents alone.

Even if their rivalry was gone, he still had the upper hand on her.

“She knows it too,” Cage added, “that’s why she’s acting out a bit. She’s trying to regain some sort of control. She wants to prove that she belongs there on that bench alongside you.”

Marcus thought of her attitude on the bench last week and the sudden demand for the formation change. He thought about her refusal to put Clarke at defense. Had she changed at all from their lecture with Indra?

“Right now,” Cage kept talking, “it’s the calm before the storm. Those little sparks you ignited just a few moments ago? It’s going to burn until it explodes.”

And for once, Marcus found himself agreeing completely with Cage.


	14. You can’t argue with ignorance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the tornado has entered the backyard and it's too late to take shelter

Miller was late.

And when he showed up, it wasn’t pretty.

“ _Ten laps?”_

“Did I misspeak? Get going,” Marcus demanded, “you have fifteen minutes to finish them.”

Miller got going, one could say.

Abby’s not sure what happened over the past two days before practice this Tuesday to make Marcus go back into his hardass coaching style, but what Abby was sure was happening was that she was annoyed with him.

Miller was ten minutes late to practice due to an accident on their usual route to the fields. Marcus didn’t care, he told him he should’ve left earlier or chosen another route. Abby couldn’t ever think of a time she saw David Miller as upset as he was.

And now the poor kid was running his heart out in ten laps.

Abby confronted him about it, telling him, “It was ten minutes, Marcus. We can shorten warm up a bit.”

Marcus wasn’t having it. He grabbed his cones and told her, “Ten minutes we had to wait for him. Ten minutes wasted for practice. Ten laps.”

He left her then, going to set up their warm up. Abby was left in shock if she was honest. What crawled up his ass and died?

He seemed closed off, like he had been back when they were on separate teams. Abby was trying to take the high road here, but Cage’s words still haunted her. Now, what Cage had told her, it _was_ glaring.

Abby didn’t forget their small argument after the game this past Sunday either. She knew both of them knew if Clarke hadn’t stepped in, another argument would’ve erupted between them. But, that was because the Grounder kids weren’t there. They were here now, so, those flames should’ve been extinguished.

But, they weren’t. If anything, they were growing.

Oh, and how Abby just stated his problem with being controlling being glaring? Yeah, it was.

Abby caught wind of Marcus telling Octavia, Murphy, Clarke, Gaia, Raven, and Lincoln to grab pennies. That’s not how sharks and minnows was set up. Murphy was always a shark alone at the start.

Then she looked at the grid. It was too small for sharks and minnows. It was a small box, only a couple yards in length and width. Immediately, she recognized it as all the players entered the box.

Octavia was holding her penny and looked up to her dad. She asked, “No sharks and minnows?”

He shook his head and said, “Sorry, kiddo. We have to focus on winning the next game.”

Octavia frowned and nodded and walked away from him. Marcus told himself to ignore the jab in his heart. He told himself over and over that the win they would earn this weekend will make up for it.

He felt Abby’s anger before she reached him. He turned to look at her, the anger on her face apparent. She didn’t speak first, so he asked her, “Yes?”

“You know what,” she spat at him. He noticed the slight bit of venom in her words. She wasn’t wrong, he knew why she was angry. He just didn’t think it was sensible.

He looked back to the grid as he sent a ball in for the kids to begin possession. He told her, “No sharks and minnows today. We need to focus if we want to win our game Saturday.”

“A small game for warm up will get them focused. It will get them interested for practice,” she told him.

“If they need a silly game to make them interested in practice, then they shouldn’t be here in the first place,” he stated, turning his attention back to the grid.

Abby was left wordless, which was hard to say when she argued with him. She had heard the rumors before of Marcus acting like a professional coach around the kids. She had heard he was too hard sometimes and took it _too_ serious.

She never guessed it was this bad. Sure, she had gotten a taste of it at their first practice together but today seemed like that attitude was amplified.

“Silly?” She repeated him, feeling the anger building up. By calling it a ‘silly game’, he was talking down to her. “You were fine with it as a warm up for last week’s practice and the weeks before that.”

“And I found out how detrimental it truly was to this team and made the decision to change it,” he replied, unbothered by her rage.

She felt herself flinch the slightest. Not only was that a dig at her coaching, it reaffirmed the words Cage had told her two weekends ago.

She retorted, “You said yourself you saw the potential it had to be a great drill.”

He looked to her, saying, “That was when we had room to lose a game. Now, we don’t.”

“You can’t honestly be blaming the game for those losses, can you?” She asked. “Maybe you forgot, but we won three games while that was our warm up.”

“With those three, yes,” he said, nodding towards where the Grounder kids were standing in the grid. He focused back on her, mocking her, “Maybe you forgot, but we lost terribly on Sunday.”

Rage erupted in her at that. Now he was mocking her. It was just like old times; but somehow, it hurt Abby this time. She felt like he had stabbed her in the heart. _Why_ did it hurt more this time?

“You think I _forgot_?” She nearly hissed at him. “Of course I didn’t forget! I don’t see how that has anything to do with our warm up.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” His voice replicated his face, annoyed and already done with the conversation. It was like he decided he was right and the conversation was pointless. “We spent time on a pointless game when we could have been spending time on a drill that would actually benefit our team.”

Abby was silent again. She could hear Cage laughing in her mind. It enraged her further as she asked, “And you don’t think I know what could benefit our team?”

He didn’t answer right away. He looked as if he was struggling to say what he wanted. Abby had a gut feeling of what he was thinking. A little part of her prayed she was wrong.

Finally, he said, “I know what will benefit our team the most.”

It wasn’t the exact words she was thinking of but they were pretty damn close. They had the same effect on her nonetheless.

“Of course you do,” she threw back at him, “I mean, how would I, a coach who never won a game without you, ever know what’s best for her team?”

Marcus heard the hurt in her voice and it sent a knife with ‘guilt’ engraved on the handle into his heart. He never cared before about what he told her, why all the sudden did he feel guilty for it?

It was different when Cage told her. It was different when she told herself. Marcus telling her somehow hurt worse. _Why_?

When he didn’t answer, she went on, “But you know everything, right? Because you had _one_ win. I forgot that got you one spot above last place in the standings.”

“At least I wasn’t in last,” he shot back, his own anger rising in response. “My tactics worked before we had those kids join our team. None of yours did.”

She stared up at him, anger burning in her eyes, just as much as his. She asked, “So, you’re blaming _me_ for Sunday’s loss?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. It was a tricky question, which he was sure his answer and not answering would get him in trouble either way. He settled for telling her, “I blame your tactics. We got dependent on others, letting ourselves slack off, like with the warm up game for example. I’m making sure it’s not going to happen again.”

“So,” she asked, afraid of the answer, “ _you’ve_ decided how practice will run from now on?”

He watched her, seeing the fear of his answer in her body language. He found his eyes flickering over to where Indra was watching their exchange carefully. He finally looked back to Abby, telling her, “I do know how to run a winning practice.”

And that’s all Abby needed to hear. It confirmed exactly what Cage had said. He did think less of her. He did think he could run the team without her.

She did her best to keep the hurt out of her voice. When did she start caring what Marcus thought of her? “You haven’t changed,” she harshly told him.

He froze. He didn’t know how to respond to the accusation. It was a good thing Abby walked away after because he didn’t have a response.

He looked to the grid to see the kids not playing possession anymore. It seemed they had stopped long ago. His eyes fell on Octavia, who was sitting on the ground, chin her hand as she picked at the grass.

He snapped out of his daze when a set of cones hit him. Everyone’s head turned to see Abby standing there, arms crossed. She raised an eyebrow at him, telling him, “Well, let’s get going Coach. Don’t you have a practice to run?” She nodded towards the kids, adding, “Doesn’t seem to be very productive right now.”

Any sympathy he had felt before was now replaced with anger. He picked up the cones one by one as everyone watched. He looked to the kids, who were all standing together now. He snapped at them, “Did I tell you to stop?”

Almost immediately they got back into their game of possession. Marcus turned to face Abby then, telling her, “Make sure they keep playing,” not waiting for a response as he strode past her.

He heard her tell him from over his shoulder, “Whatever you say, Coach.” He sighed deeply as he drummed his fingers against the cones. Irritation was making its way through him.

He began to set up their formation with the cones, planning to go into an extensive session of their game plan. Any flaw in it would be pointed out and would be punished. They would learn to not make them, he would make sure of it.

He finished setting up the formation and came back over to the grid. He stood by Abby who didn’t turn to look at him. He crossed his own arms, copying her stance, and told the team, “Go get water. Then meet for your formation.”

The kids did as told, not wanting to end up like Miller, who was on his last lap. Marcus looked at his watch and yelled to the poor boy, “You have forty seconds left to make this lap. If you don’t, you have another five.”

Abby was almost sure she heard the boy cry out before trying to run faster. She thought Marcus was being ridiculous, she _knew_ he was. She didn’t say anything, ya know, because he _did_ know what was best for the team.

Soon the kids rejoined them alongside a Miller who looked like he wanted to curl into a ball and never play soccer again. In fact, none of the kids seemed to be enjoying practice so far. They seemed to be afraid of what their next drill would be and wondering if they’d end up like Miller.

Marcus looked at them all, unfazed by their faces, and told them, “We will be practicing our formation all practice. Any mistake made will be pointed out and there _will_ be consequences. They are there to make sure you know what you’re doing is wrong and to help motivate you to not repeat those mistakes.”

Marcus listed off the usual line up. Raven, Murphy, and Miller lined the back line. Jasper, Gaia, and Monty took up the midfield with Bellamy up top. The other kids threw on pennies and acted as the opposing team.

Every little mistake that happened, Marcus pointed out whoever committed it and they were given a punishment. Usually, it was either running or pushups.

Raven dived in many times, earning many full field sprints. Eventually, she was too tired to dive in anymore. Murphy was over aggressive and caused many fouls. He did a lot of pushups. Every time Miller stood still, not from being tired from his ten laps, he would run another. The guy started to eventually not move due to being worn out.

Every time Jasper was out of positon, he was given a sprint to do, where he was watched by everyone to make sure he was running it correctly. When Monty didn’t communicate, Marcus made him do pushups. When Bellamy decided to abandon or ignore the game plan and charge forward, Marcus made him switch out with Clarke. It was pretty often.

After about twenty minutes of the torture, he let the kids get a drink. When the kids walked by Abby towards the bench, she heard Murphy complain to Bellamy, “Why is your dad being such a dick?”

Abby chuckled to herself as she looked over to Marcus. He was running a hand through his hair, frustration etched on his face. It made a flashback to their first practice enter her mind. She called out, “Everything okay, Coach?”

She was mocking him, and he knew it. She didn’t care though. That was until he smirked at her. That _fucking_ smirk was back and it burst annoyance through her. What did he have planned?

“I will be soon,” he replied as he fixed some of the cones that got messed up during the drill.

Soon, the kids came back from their water break. He smiled down to them, telling them, “We’re going to be doing a new line up, one we haven’t done before.” His eyes flickered to Abby, adding, “But I know it’ll benefit this team well.”

Dread crept up on her. He wouldn’t dare…

He told them, “Raven you’re still left outside defense. Murphy, you’re getting a break. Clarke, you’ll be center defense.”

The rest of his line up went in one ear and out the other. She was focused on the position he had given her daughter. Apparently, he _would_ dare.

If they weren’t already playing with fire, that decision would’ve rekindled any previous argument they had.

The kids went into their line up and Abby immediately made her way to where Marcus stood. He was smirking as he watched the drill begin.

She asked, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

He shook his head and told her, “Watch your language, Abby. There are children around.”

“I’ll do that once you tell me what the fuck is going on,” she hissed at him, pointing to where her daughter stood on defense. “Why is she in the back?”

He crossed his arms and told her, “Because her being there is what will benefit this team the most.”

“Lincoln plays there! He has more experience there!”

“And? He can sub in her for when she needs one,” he told her. “Otherwise, Clarke can play defense.”

“No,” she immediately shot the idea down.

He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to her, asking, “I thought we already established I knew what was best for this team?”

“That may be,” she bit out, ignoring the tug in her heart, “but I always know what is best for my daughter.”

He watched her for a moment. He asked, “And you think that’s up top?”

She watched him for a moment as well. She felt it was a trap she was going to walk in. She just nodded in response.

He was silent for a moment until he laughed. Rage spiked in her again, hands clenching into fists. He looked to her, shaking his head, telling her, “You haven’t change either.”

“ _Excuse me_?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he replied, the humor absent now. “You’ve heard how good Clarke is at defense. Hell, Abby, you’ve _seen_ it, but you choose to stay ignorant. Why? Because you don’t want to be wrong.”

“I am _not_ wrong about my daughter,” she spat back, venom dripping in her words.

He wasn’t fazed and went on as if she hadn’t talked, “Have you asked her yet? Where she would like to play? I’ve overheard her talking with Lincoln about defense.”

“That doesn’t mean anything!”

“It doesn’t?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. “You’re afraid you’ll be wrong about what your daughter wants so you choose to ignore it. You don’t want to change your mindset that her being on top will make her happy.”

“That’s because it does!”

He shook his head, waiting until she made eye contact with him to speak. He told her, “You don’t truly know your daughter if you think that.”

Abby laughed this time, loud enough that the kids stopped their drill to examine their coaches. Marcus was confused at the sudden shift of emotions in her.

She shook her head this time, smiling at him, as if she knew something he didn’t. She asked him, “And you think you know your daughter?”

Marcus’ guard went up immediately. His eyes found Octavia where she was watching the exchange on the opposite side of the field. She was watching him with worried eyes. He looked back to Abby, replying, “Of course I do.”

“You do?” She asked, laughing immediately after again. Marcus was getting nervous. He did know his daughter, didn’t he?

“What makes her happy about soccer then, Marcus?” She asked him out of the blue.

He looked to her, confused by the question. He automatically told her, “Winning.”

That’s when Abby shook her head and he felt the nerves beating his heart faster. She asked him, “Are you sure?”

He looked over to Octavia again, mind racing. Looking back to Abby, he nodded, saying, “Yes.”

She laughed again as she crossed her arms. She smiled at Marcus, one full of knowledge he didn’t yet understand. She told him, “Then I guess you don’t know your daughter either.”

“Bullshit!” He yelled, earning the eyes of the parents now.

“Oh, Coach,” Abby put a hand over her heart, feigning hurt, mocking him, “watch your language. There are kids around.”

He gritted his together. He had his marker board in his hand and he pointed it at her, hissing, “This all because you know _I’m_ the reason this team is winning.”

Fire erupted in her veins, ice cold fire. It swarmed in her eyes and radiated off her in waves. She took a step closer to him, telling him, “Really? Cause whose formation actually won games?”

“Your formation turned out to be shit once those kids weren’t there,” he retorted. “Your formation had nothing to do with it.”

“Well, as one coach used to say,” she mocked his voice, “a win is a win.”

He shook his head, ignoring her and repeated himself, “You’re only doing this because you know I’m right. You’re insecure about the fact that I’m still a better coach than you. You’re trying to make up for the fact that if I weren’t coaching with you, you’d still be in last place with no wins.”

“And you think you would’ve gotten this far alone?” She asked. “You couldn’t have beaten any of those teams without my help, _Kane_. You’re not Cage Wallace, stop acting like it.”

Fire burned through his veins, spreading like wildfire. He knew he wasn’t Cage, he never wanted to be. He shot back, “I could defeat the Reapers alone on Saturday, without you.”

“Oh, you could? How so?”

“Because _I_ know how to win a game. I don’t need your formation or your stupid game or _you_ to get it. I know what’s best for this team and you don’t,” he raged.

His adrenaline was high, coursing through his veins. His breathing was deep as he watched her, eyes focused solely on her. His state matched hers, anger amplifying at a fast rate. They were both volcanoes, rumbling, waiting to erupt.

“Well,” she replied, “too bad you’ll never get the chance to prove that. You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not.” If she was hurt by his comment, she didn’t show it.

He didn’t respond. He looked back to the kids instead, noticing them standing around again and snapped, “Who told you to stop?”

The kids immediately got back at it, terrified of the two coaches. Abby chuckled as he looked back to her. His eyes were still burning with fire as he watched her refocus on the practice.

He looked to the sideline where Indra was in her lawn chair. She made eye contact with him and shook her head. He felt her disappointment all the way across the field.

It didn’t affect him though. He knew what was best for the team and he knew what made Octavia happy. He wasn’t going to lose his job because Abby was insecure about her spot on the team. He wasn’t here to make sure she was happy, he was here to make the kids win.

His gaze soon found its way to a man in the parking lot, wearing none other than a purple suit. He was leaning up against a light pole as he watched their practice.

They made eye contact and he smiled at Marcus. He didn’t say anything or make any other gesture. All he did was smile and then disappear into the rows of cars.

Marcus found himself looking at Abby again who was watching the drill. His eyes flickered back to the empty spot by the light pole in the parking lot. Then, her words rang in his mind.

_“Well, too bad you’ll never get the chance to prove that. You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not.”_

His eyes found her again, his mind racing. There was a way to prove it.

Not only would it prove that she was wrong, but it would guarantee a spot in the playoffs for the Delinquents.


	15. Silence is argument carried out by other means

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus does a no-no aka the Tornado has struck  
> PS – Kaha rise !!!!!!!!

Abby was stressing over three things.

  1. She just got out of an emergency trauma surgery that lasted five hours.
  2. Their game against the Reapers that they needed to win was in an hour.
  3. Her Snickers bar just got caught in the rack in the vending machine.



Was it considered bad morale if she took a shot of vodka during work? God knows she needed it.

Giving one last defeated kick at the vending machine, she sighed loudly and let her head thump against the glass. She glared down at the Snickers bar and whispered to it, “You’re more annoying than Marcus.”

That was a hard standard to beat at the moment. Right now, ever since that practice on Tuesday, he had been number one on her shit list.

He had basically confirmed Cage’s accusations of him thinking less of her and her coaching abilities. Just the thought of it and _him_ made her angry. She kicked the vending machine again, more forceful than she meant.

The Snickers bar slowly fell forward and got loose from his hook, falling to the bottom slot.

Abby threw her hands up in the air, a grin spreading across her face. Only if she could kick Marcus and make him comply too.

Happily, she took her Snickers bar and made her way back to her office. It had been an hour since the surgery and she had just finished finalizing up notes and talking with the family. She was grabbing a quick snack before heading out to the game.

She ripped the wrapper open quickly, feeling her stomach rumble in anticipation and victory. She took a huge bite of it as she heard someone call for her. “Dr. Griffin?”

She turned around, mouth full of a Snickers, and found her good friend and co-surgeon, Emori. She smiled at her and tried to ask her, “What’s up?” but it came out more like, “Wahffz uffp?”

Emori laughed and shook her head as she waited for Abby to finish chewing. When she smacked her lips, signaling she had swallowed it, Emori told her, “The surgeon team for the surgery we just performed are meeting up to go over the patient’s post-opt vitals and checking for any signs of complications.”

Abby looked to the clock on the wall. It was fifty minutes until game time. Warm up would be starting in twenty minutes and it took ten minutes to drive from the hospital to the fields. That was if traffic was nice to her. She swears the light out of the hospital _always_ turns red on purpose when she drives up to it.

She gave an approving nod to Emori and said, “Let me text my…co-worker and tell him I may be late for our game.”

Emori nodded and told her, “Sounds good. I’ll go gather the rest of the team. Meet you by the patient’s room in five? Or do you need an extra minute to finish your snack?”

Abby heard the playful and teasing note in her voice and she laughed, flipping her off. She joked back, “I’ll preform a surgery _and_ eat my Snickers.”

“Sadly, I don’t think you’re joking.”

Both laughed at that and offered smiles to each other. Emori turned and left at the moment to gather the team. Abby took another bite of her Snickers as she walked to her office to get her notes. On the way, she pulled her cellphone out.

She opened her messages and clicked ‘new message’ and typed his name in. She sent the following message: _‘Got tied up at the hospital. May be late to the game.’_

She reached her office when she heard her phone ding with his response. She flopped in her office chair while taking another bite of her Snickers, opening the message from the devil himself. It read: ‘ _No problem. Was just going to update you on the game time. It got delayed an hour.’_

Her eyebrows furred together in confusion. Before she could reply asking why, he sent up a follow message, explaining: _‘One of the older teams, a kid went down. Ambulance and everything. They think it’s a shattered kneecap and torn ACL.’_

Abby’s heart sank. That would keep the poor kid out of soccer for at least a year. She shoved the rest of her Snickers in her mouth as she typed a reply: _‘Terrible news. Hope the kid is okay and recovers quickly. See you at game time.’_

She sat back in her chair, looking at the ceiling. She thanked God every day that Clarke had never suffered an injury as bad as that. Sure, she had sprained her ankle before. It’s almost impossible to not tweak your ankle the slightest in the game.

Her phone went off again and his response was: _‘See you then.’_

She didn’t respond and slid her phone back into her lab coat pocket. She looked to the clock in her office. Now she had one hour and forty minutes until game time.

She grabbed her clipboard that contained her notes and stood, leaving her office. On her way to the patient’s room, she thought of texting Indra to tell her about the game time change. When Abby got the call about the emergency surgery, she had dropped Clarke off at Indra’s.

If the surgery had went into game time or Abby would be arriving right on time, Indra would get Clarke there at the time she needed to be.

She figured Marcus would alert the rest of the parents.

She arrived at the patient’s room to see her surgery team and they turned to greet her. Emori’s eyes were drawn to Abby’s lab coat pocket and she raised an eyebrow, looking back up to Abby. She asked her, “You sure you don’t need that extra minute?”

Abby looked down to her lab coat pocket and saw part of the wrapper had stuck to her. She ripped it off and threw it away in a bin nearby. Emori teased her more, “Usually you’re not messy, Dr. Griffin.”

Abby snuck her another middle finger and told her, earning a laugh from her team, “Well, you know what they say, you’re not you when you’re hungry.”

+

“Don’t try her, Emori. She might actually try that idea,” one of the assistants said as they exited the patient’s room.

“Are you trying to say that I won’t or I’m not skilled enough?” Abby asked, looking down to the young man.

He shrank back a bit under her gaze. Marcus and Cage may have power and control on the field, but Abby had power in the hospital. Being a top surgeon had its perks.

“Neither?” The man said, unsure.

Abby smirked a bit to herself and patted him on the head, joking, “You’ve got a lot to learn there, youngin.”

He swatted her hand off his head as the rest of the team laughed. Abby let her hand fall to her side, while lifting her notes up. She reported, “Post-opt vitals were all stable and exams all showed signs of no complications. We have a CT scan set for tomorrow for further examination?”

“Yes ma’am,” Emori told her, looking at her own set of notes, “at nine tomorrow morning.”

“Perfect!” Abby clicked her pen and slid into her lab coat breast pocket. She smiled at the group, adding, “Good job team. See you all tomorrow. We’ll meet up tomorrow a half hour before for preparations, got it?”

They all nodded in agreement and broke off into their different ways. Emori called out over her shoulder to Abby, “Good luck at your game today!”

Abby laughed a bit in response, yelling back, “We’ll need it!”

Thinking of that, she looked to the clock on the wall. There was fifty minutes until game time.

The checkup had taken longer than expected but they wanted to be careful to not make any complications that weren’t already present. Abby also liked to double check over the process with Emori repeating her tests to get another opinion.

Setting up the CT scan took time as well as they needed to find a time that worked well with immediate family and the doctors.

She entered her office and set her clipboard down while sitting in her chair. She sighed, suddenly exhausted. She wasn’t sure if she had the energy to deal with the kids, the parents, and Marcus. That in itself was exhausting.

She pulled her phone out to see an alarming amount of notifications for missed calls, text messages, and voicemails.

She had six missed calls, two voicemails, and ten text messages.

She checked the missed calls first and noticed two were from Cece and the other four were from Indra. Abby checked the first voicemail, immediately recognizing Cece’s voice.

“Abby! Where the hell are you?” Cece yelled over the noise of what Abby guessed was the field complex. “The game starts in ten minutes. Marcus wouldn’t answer when I asked him where you were. Did you have an emergency at the hospital? Just let me know because Indra stated that but she seems to think something else is going on. I’ll try calling you again at game time.”

The voicemail ended as Abby checked the time of the next call. It was ten minutes ago. Pricks of nerves found their way up Abby’s spine. She clicked on Indra’s voicemail next.

“Hey Abby, it’s Indra,” she spoke, “this is the fourth time I’ve tried to reach you. Hopefully the surgery went well and you’re still not in it. I’m saying that because I went to Marcus to tell him about your condition in case you may have forgotten to and he seemed…unbothered? I’m not sure how to word it but it was unsettling. When you get this, give me a call. The game is going to start soon.”

A click indicated the voicemail ended but Abby kept the phone by her ear for a few seconds longer. The pricks turned into needles, spreading deeper and further. She pulled the phone from her ear and noticed the voicemail and call were nine minutes ago, right after Cece.

Abby then opened her text messages, two from Indra and the rest of the eight from Cece. She opened Cece’s first, the messages progressively getting more desperate.

 _‘Abby!!!!!! Where are you???’_  
_‘Indra brought Clarke, but where are you?’_  
 _‘Indra just talked to Marcus and now Indra seems….IDK how to put it…thoughtful?’_  
 _‘I just tried calling you and left a voicemail. Sew that person up and get your ass here!!!!’_  
 _‘Five minutes till game time. I thought top surgeons were fast!!!’_  
 _‘Indra tried calling you again. She doesn’t seem to be happy about something.’_  
 _‘ABBY !!!! IT’S THE COIN TOSS!! WHERE ARE YOU!!’_  
 _‘I just called you again, where are you??? Kickoff just happened. GET YOUR ASS HERE!!!!!!’_

Abby saw the last message and those needles were pushed further into her, cutting deeper and sending nerves deeper into her. “ _Kick off just happened_ ”? The game didn’t start until another forty-five minutes now, how did kickoff happen?

She went and opened Indra’s texts, which were a lot less animated than Cece’s.

_‘Taking the girls and Lincoln to the game. Call me once you’re out of surgery.’_

That was sent barely an hour ago. That would mean Indra was taking the girls and Lincoln to the game for warm up at the original game time. The needles were now pushing the substance into her body, burning the nerves throughout her body.

‘ _Call me.’_

The last text was sent five minutes ago.

Abby’s heart was beating fast as the nerves and anxiety began to overtake her body. She remembered Indra’s voicemail and her text, immediately dialing her back.

Indra picked up on the first call tone, not bothering with a greeting, but getting straight to the point, “Where are you?”

“At the hospital,” Abby answered, “I had to finish up a post-op checkup.”

“Are you done?”

“Yeah,” Abby answered uncertain. It was silent for a while before Abby asked, “Indra? Isn’t the game delayed? Why is everyone freaking out?”

She heard Indra curse under her breath. She spoke into the phone, but more to herself, “That son of a bitch. Abby, how fast can you get here?”

Abby’s mood was dropping by the second and she looked to the clock and told her, “Probably fifteen minutes the latest.”

“Well, you better drive fast,” Indra answered. She could hear the disappointment in her voice.

“Indra, what’s going on?” Abby demanded, even though her voice shook a bit. She had a feeling of dread concerning what Indra’s answer may be.

“The game isn’t delayed, Abby,” Indra told her. “I’m not sure what bullshit Marcus spewed to you, but the game started on time. It’s twenty minutes into the first half already.”

Abby almost dropped her phone at the news. He did _what?_

Abby was in shock first. She would’ve never guessed in a million years that Marcus would pull a stunt like this.

Then their conversation from their practice on Tuesday flashed in her mind. He had told her, “ _Because **I** know how to win a game. I don’t need your formation or your stupid game or **you** to get it.”_

Anger leaked into every inch of her at the connection.

She wasn’t sure she could get more upset at Marcus after Tuesday’s practice but it was obvious she could. How _dare_ he do this! How does someone have the audacity to lie to their co-worker so they miss the game?

Oh, Abby was _pissed_.

“That son of a bitch,” Abby repeated Indra. She still couldn’t believe Marcus would stoop that low to prove he could win without her. “I’ll be there in ten.”

“Do you know why he would lie to you?”

“Oh, I do,” Abby spat out, venom seeping into her words, “and I’m sure the whole field complex will know the reason when I’m done with him.”

Abby hung up the phone and shoved it in her pocket. She was _fuming_. She needed to hit something or maybe a certain someone. And maybe hit that certain someone with her car.

She looked to the clock on the wall, it indicating that there was less than ten minutes left of the half. If Abby could beat that light outside of the hospital and escape any cops, she could get there by halftime.

Then Marcus would have a different type of Hell other than the kids to worry about.

+

“Not now, Cage,” Abby spat out to the man in the green suit. She strode by him, ignoring whatever bullshit fell from his lips.

She was focused on one man. She was focused on the one man who she wanted to run over with her car. She was focused on the one man who just finished up his halftime speech and clapped, getting the kids off the bench.

The kids ran onto the field, the bench consisting of Murphy (not dressed due to having to sit out for his red card last game), Harper, Jasper, Lincoln, and Octavia. Before she could reach the bench and rip apart that one man, Indra suddenly stepped in front of her.

She held a hand out to stop Abby from advancing and told her, “Whatever you’re thinking of doing…”

“Oh, he deserves _everything_ I’m going to give him,” Abby retorted, the venom in her voice not escaping Indra’s notice.

Indra tried to reason with her, “Going up there and tearing into him isn’t the best solution to this-”

“And _his_ solution for winning this game?” Abby interrupted, anger making her snap at Indra. “Was his solution the best way to approach it?”

“Of course not,” Indra replied just as firmly back, “but that doesn’t mean you have to approach it just as bad.”

“I disagree,” Abby hissed, “because he did something unforgivable and he deserves every word I’m going to throw at him. He doesn’t get to be let off easy because it’s the high road. No, Indra, I’m sorry. What he did was _wrong_ and it _hurt_.”

“I’m trying to keep it from getting worse.”

“And you tried that before, didn’t you?” Abby shook her head, smiling sadly at Indra. “This has been building up for five years, Indra. A ten minute lecture wasn’t going to change us like that, not unless we really wanted to. We found an easy outlet, the Grounder kids, to avoid our mistakes because we’re scared to admit them. In the end, this is our fault.”

Indra frowned as she looked behind her to the field where Marcus was yelling at Raven for another dive. She turned her attention back to Abby, agreeing, “I won’t argue that.”

“We were working, intentionally or not, towards this point,” Abby admitted, feeling embarrassed at that statement. It was like they were teenagers in middle school, picking fights over stupid drama and going behind each other’s back. “It may not be pretty, but it’s probably just best if we let it all out. That way there’s no more tip toeing around in a minefield waiting for one of us to explode. Let me set it off on our own terms.”

“Does it still qualify as his terms if he doesn’t know you’re here?”

“He lost the right to that the moment he texted me about the game update,” she explained, eyes drifting to Marcus. Her anger had subsided a bit while chatting to Indra, but it was still there. The moment Indra walked away, it would come back at full force.

But she was done. It was tiring, going back and forth about the _same damn_ thing. It got them nowhere and that showed pretty well last Sunday against Alpha Station. Like Abby had said before, it was also embarrassing.

Sure, their teasing was fun and everyone laughed along to it. But Abby saw the effect their real bickering did on the kids and the parents. It was evident enough on Tuesday.

The kids stopped their drill twice because they were surprised by their coaches. She’s seen Octavia look at her father with what was fear and confusion when he spoke harshly to Abby. She also saw the disappointment in Bellamy’s body language. Not to mention, Clarke was visibly upset and didn’t watch their exchange.

She had heard Jaha tell Jackson when they were leaving to “keep an eye on your sister”. Even Cece had pulled Abby aside to ask if she was okay. If Cece, one of the most obnoxious parents, was concerned with her arguments with Marcus, then there was a problem.

Abby was done. She would walk up to that bench and confront Marcus. She would end it and leave nothing unsaid.

Indra said, “Well, I don’t disagree with you on that.” She shrugged as she tucked her hands into her jeans pockets. She added on, “Just keep in mind there _are_ children around.”

Abby smiled at Indra and Indra noted with a groan that it held a sinister edge. She told her, “Oh, I know. And those kids? They’re going to learn what a real coach he is.”

With that, Abby walked around Indra.

Indra didn’t try to stop her this time. It was a good thing she didn’t as Abby’s blood was beginning to boil again. The anger was spilling over the cap that was trying to keep it contained. One smartass remark from him would set her off.

As calmly as she could, Abby made her way up to the bench and slowly walked to stand beside Marcus. He jumped a little in surprise when he noticed someone, _her_ , beside him.

He quickly regained his composure, not having the guts to look at her, and kept his focus on the game in front of them. Neither of them said a thing to each other for a good few minutes. Each could feel the tension between the two crackling, waiting for a remark to set off a spark that would lead to an explosion.

Abby finally spoke up by asking, “What’s the score?”

He looked to her out of the corner of his eye and then back to the field. He replied, “1-1.”

“Mhmmm,” Abby hummed as she rocked on her heels a bit. Dread was creeping its way through Marcus as anger was spreading through Abby. “Seems like you’re doing a fantastic job without me.”

His eyes shot to her for a good look at her. He studied her stance and her body language. He read the anger in the fire in her eyes as she watched the game. Her posture read that she was guarded and bracing for the inevitable argument that was going to take place.

She was examining the field, her eyes landing on her daughter. The position she was in made the fire in her rage brighter. She added in the jab, “Guess your so called emergency formation doesn’t work, does it?”

He shot back, a hard clip in his voice, “And you’d know what about a working formation?”

Her eyes snapped to his then and they made eye contact for the first time Abby had arrived. Hers were burning with a blue fire, the hottest flame, while his were burning with flames slowly reaching the same level. The spark was lit.

“Is your excuse of putting her there because Murphy has to sit out for his red car?” She asked, tilting her head.

“It’s not an _excuse_ ,” he shot back, “it’s what will benefit the team the most.”

“Right, because it’s not like we need to _win_ this game or anything. We can _totally_ tie and advance,” Abby told him, deadpan. Irritation added fuel to the fire in him. Abby pretended that a lightbulb went off and she said in fake shock, “Oh, wait! That’s not us! _That’s the other team.”_

She was staring him down this time, eyes fixated on _him_. She tilted her head to the other side, waiting for a reply. He watched her for a moment more before turning his attention back to the field while saying, “Leave the decision making to me.”

This was where the spark hit the dynamite. This was where the explosion happened. This is where there was no room for turning back.

“Oh, just like how it was your decision to _lie_ about the game time so I would miss it?” She accused him, loud enough to ensure that the kids and parents heard it.

Heads turned to look at the two, surprise and confusion among many of the faces.

Marcus’ head was one of the many to find her. His stare at her got sharper and the fire in his eyes was turning cold fast. He replied, “You made me make that decision.”

“ _I_ didn’t do anything except trust you,” she threw back, venom slipping in, “but that obviously was a mistake.”

“Trust me? You do everything but that!” He shouted back, attention completely on her, the game forgotten. “If you trusted me then I wouldn’t have had to do that!”

“Actually,” Abby retorted, “had you trusted me, you wouldn’t have had to. You didn’t and probably still don’t trust me, Marcus. I get it, I really do. I had no wins before you, I wasn’t the ideal business partner you signed up for. It’s hard to trust someone like that.”

Marcus didn’t respond. He knew she had a point. He didn’t trust her tactics and that’s why he made the decision he did. He trusted himself to the get the Delinquents the win they needed, not her.

She continued on, “You don’t trust me make the decision you thought was the best for this team so you made sure I couldn’t have a say. You didn’t give me a chance to give my input.”

“Did you forget I changed the formation for you? Did you forget I let the kids play the stupid game for warm up?”

“Not because I truly wanted to,” she told him. He visibly winced at the jab. She added, “We did them because you approved them, whether it was to get me to shut up or you could find a way to make it meet your standards.”

He didn’t argue; he knew she was right. Even if he didn’t mean for it to come off that way, it unconsciously was the reason. Marcus felt himself beginning to freak out as if he was being appointed the bad guy in this situation.

He randomly asked, “Don’t you want what’s best for this team? Don’t you _want_ to keep your job?”

“Of course I do,” she replied, no hesitation, “but only if it’s done in the right way. Don’t you want to be a good role model for your kids?”

 _That_ was crossing the line. He took a small step towards her and harshly told her, “You’re one to talk.”

Abby didn’t flinch back. She knew she wasn’t the greatest role model material, but at least she owned up to her flaws. “You don’t think I know I’m not the perfect role model for my daughter? Yes, I cuss too much. Yes, I overreact a lot. At least I can say I’m not selfish to the point I lie to others to get what I want.”

There was silence between the two after the statement. It was chilling as the two stared at each other. The kids on the bench were watching their coaches, all scared of what would happen next. Then, Octavia asked her father, “Is it true, Dad?”

Both heads snapped to the girl on the bench. Abby could see the tears in her eyes as she gazed up at her father.

Marcus felt his heart snapping in half. He didn’t feel guilt for what he had done until he looked to Octavia. How could he lie to her? He had done it and he thought he was doing it for her and the kids. He thought it was the best decision for them.

He looked down to the ground, shame overtaking him, as he stumbled on his words, “Octavia….it’s not that simple…”

“Yes it is!” She yelled at her father. It caught the two coaches off guard. Neither had heard her be this vocal anywhere near a soccer field.

He frowned and looked to Abby, to Octavia, and then to the ground again. He sighed and nodded, saying, “Yes.”

Abby could see in Octavia’s body language that her heart was breaking. Her hands that were resting on the edge on the bench tightened around the wood. She was shaking, trying to not her tears fall.

She looked to Abby and told her, “I’m sorry,” before she got up and ran off towards the bathrooms. Abby heard a sob escape the girl and she visibly watched another heart break, but this time it was Marcus’.

Indra passed by them, saying, “I got her.” As she passed Marcus, she shook her head in disappointment. Marcus tried to speak up to defend himself but Indra didn’t listen, shaking her head again as she kept walking after Octavia.

At the same time, the two heard Alie blow the whistle. They looked to the field to see Bellamy had scored. It was now 2-1, the Delinquents in the lead.

The kids on the bench went in for their subs Marcus must have preassigned them and Lexa, Monty, and Clarke came off the field. They sat on the bench, oblivious to the previous argument but did notice the tension between their coaches.

Abby told Marcus, “You don’t get credit for taking the lead since I am present.”

The heartbreak in his eyes disappeared and the fire came back. He harshly told her, “You have a lot of nerve accusing me of that shit in front of my daughter as if you’re any better.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Did I not state my flaws?”

“You stated the ones you know and don’t care about. You forgot to mention that you choose to stay ignorant about what makes your daughter happy because you’re afraid to be wrong. That’s a bad trait by default.”

“How so?”

“You’re teaching her to be scared of change. You told Cage yourself that change is inevitable. How can you tell people that when you yourself are afraid of it?” He pestered her.

“I don’t like it when people try to tell me things they know nothing about,” she shot back. Her eyes found Clarke, who was watching her mother with confusion in her own eyes. She looked back to Marcus adding, “I know what’s best for my daughter.”

“Just like how I know what’s best for this team.”

They two fell silent again. Both were still angry at the other and still thought the other was in the wrong. Abby shook her head, sighing and said, “Forget what I said at practice, you _have_ changed. The Marcus I know wouldn’t have done this. He would’ve just argued with me and we would’ve worked it out even if Indra had to drag us by our ears to another lecture.”

“You know damn well another lecture wouldn’t have fixed this,” he replied, anger spiking at her words.

“Maybe not,” she snapped back, “but at least it would’ve been a higher moral solution to our problem than _this_. How the fuck did you think this was okay, Marcus?”

“I wasn’t concerned about you or our relationship,” he replied. “I was concerned about losing my job and these kids winning.”

“And you thought _this_ was the best way to get it?” She couldn’t believe her ears. It didn’t sound like Marcus anymore. It sounded like a certain asshole who was standing by the usual tree in a green suit.

They made eye contact, anger seeping from her to him and him to her. He said, “I had to do what was best for this team.”

“ _Fuck you, Kane_ ,” Abby spat at him, her voice cracking the slightest. “Using that excuse for you to treat me less is _bullshit_ and the Marcus I know would agree. Sure, he’d tease me about it and hold it over my head, but he would never use it as a reason to use against me. You know who that sounds like?”

Marcus didn’t answer, a single man flashing in his mind. A distant memory of himself talking to that one man at the beginning of the year played out. He had told that man, “ _And you don’t have to make every team below you feel like shit for being a lesser team but here we are, you doing **exactly** that.”_

Was that not was he was doing every time he pulled that reason out? He shot down her formation before because he didn’t think it was best for the team because when she used it, she was in last place. When she brought up sharks and minnows, he looked down on it because it was a waste of time and he thought her progress proved that.

“It sounds like Cage,” she told him.

His eyes hardened, anger spewing like a volcano from his heart and running through his veins. “I am _nothing_ like him,” he claimed.

“Really? It’s hard to tell the difference now-a-days.”

Marcus opened his mouth to respond but a new voice broke through from behind Abby. “We’re winning, why do you care so much on how we get there?”

They looked behind Abby to see Jaha standing up, making his way toward them.

Immediately, Abby transferred her anger from Marcus to Jaha. He had always made snide comments about her coaching, thinking she didn’t hear them or understood their meaning.

Jaha added, “He didn’t do anything illegal. Was it a smart decision in regards to loyalty and trust? Probably not.” Did he _really_ say ‘probably’? “But in regards for the team’s success? It was a smart decision.”

She could feel that _fucking_ smirk form behind her on Marcus’ face. She glared up to Jaha, not responding. He finished by saying, “We actually have a chance, don’t let your ego ruin it.”

 _That_ was it. Before she could stop herself or decided that she gave a fuck, her fist came into contact with Jaha’s face. Immediately, blood sprayed from his nose and over her knuckles. He collapsed to the floor in pain, grabbing his face.

“Holy shit!” Murphy commented from the sideline, eyes wide.

Abby barely registered the noise of the whistle in the background. She barely registered the feel of Marcus holding her back from punching Jaha again. All she could focus on was somehow she was getting blamed for this situation when she was the victim. He lied to her, not the other way around.

Yes, they both had flaws that contributed to their downfall, but this time it wasn’t her doing. Yes, her actions before lead to this moment but it was a decision made by Marcus that he voluntarily did knowing the consequences. He was at just as much fault as she was.

Abby saw red in front of her eyes, drawing her from her blank state. Her eyes focused, seeing Alie presenting her with a red card. Alie shook her head and told her, “You know the drill, Abby. No attending practice or coaching at the next game.”

Abby nodded and yanked her arm free from Marcus. She looked to him, whispering, “You’re lucky that wasn’t you.”

Marcus didn’t respond as he watched Abby, no emotion showcasing through his eyes this time. He was guarded.

Abby gladly let her angry show as she stormed off the bench and to where her car was in the parking lot. She had plenty of red cards to know the drill. She was supposed to leave the premises but Alie let her chill out in the parking lot so she could take her daughter home.

She leaned up against her car as she looked up the sky. If she looked back over to the game then her anger would come back. Surprisingly, she _was_ trying to take the high road here and calm down before she did something she would regret.

And if you were wondering, no, she wouldn’t regret punching Marcus or even Jaha again. God knows they both deserved it.

“Great day for soccer, isn’t it, Coach?”

She didn’t have to look away from the sky to recognize the mocking voice. She didn’t have to look away from the sky to see the mocking smile. She did, however, look anyway to see Cage walking up to her.

“Every fucking day, Cage,” she replied.

It was silent between the two as he leaned against her car next to her. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed, asking, “Is this the right time to say ‘I told you so’?”

Irritation pulsed through her and she looked to him, narrowing her eyes. She told him, “Only if you want your suit to resemble Christmas.”

He laughed and said, “As much as I like Christmas in July, I’ll pass.” He pushed himself off her car and fixed his suit jacket. He gave her a big smile and told her, “See you next Saturday for the semis- oh wait, never mind.”

She pushed herself off her car as well and reveled in the tiny fact that he backed up a few steps when she did. She smiled at him and asked, “Is that in reference to my red card or the fact that you still believe the Delinquents can’t win a game?”

“I _know_ the Delinquents can’t win a game, at least not without those Grounder kids.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong. Last Sunday proved that well enough. Still, she didn’t like it when he talked down about her team. She leaned back against the car, telling him, “You’d be surprised.”

Before Cage could respond, Clarke appeared beside him as she walked to the car. Abby smiled at her daughter asking, “What was the final score?”

Clarke barely looked at her mom as she threw bag in the backseat. She told her, “2-1.”

Abby smiled and looked to Cage, who was visibly fuming. Ha, karma was a bitch.

“Looks like I’ll see you on Saturday,” she told him as Clarke made her way to the other side of the car. Cage didn’t honor her with a response as he stormed away, immediately pulling his cellphone out.

On his rampage through the parking lot, he ran into Marcus. The two looked at each other, silence passing between them both. Cage smiled at him and told him, “Nice decision today, Coach.”

The words struck home, sending Abby’s accusation of him being like Cage through his mind again. He mentally shook it off. He was _not_ Cage, and he would never be. He rightfully ignored him as he made his way to his car.

He didn’t miss Cage talking into his phone however, hearing him greeting the person on the other line, “Nia? It’s good to hear your voice. We need to meet up for lunch.”

He was curious as to why Cage would be contacting Nia, the coach of Ice Nation. Nia wasn’t a very social person; she chose to keep to herself and refrained to talking to parents of her players only. Marcus knew others would agree with him when he would describe her as unapproachable.

The Delinquents had won their game today against the Reapers, earning a final standing of fourth place. That landed them in the fourth seed for the semifinals for the playoffs. They pulled the lucky card of playing Nia’s team for the first round. Whoever won that game would go on to play the winner of Mount Weather versus Alpha Station in the championship round.

Marcus has never won against Ice Nation, not alone or with Abby. It would be interesting to see how the game would go without her by his side but with the Grounder kids. He knew he could do it, but he was starting to feel uneasy after hearing Cage call Nia.

Marcus had to pass Abby’s car on the way to his and he caught her eyes as she opened her car door. She smiled, fake as can be, and told him, “You think you can coach them without me? You think that’s the best decision for the team? You got your wish, through better circumstances this time. Good luck, Marcus. You’ll need it."


	16. You can learn something new every day if you listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hold on to your hats, we’re getting blasts from the past!! Also,,,, who knew that kids were smart????

Abby likes to believe she makes good spaghetti.

Clarke disagrees.

Abby knows that.

Abby chooses to ignore that.

Jake was more of the cook in the family. Abby helped out but the main course was always made by him. He knew how to cook her steak just the way she liked it, he knew how Clarke liked her corn shaved off the cob, and he made a bombass apple pie.

Abby’s tried to recreate it once before for Clarke’s birthday. Long story short, the fire department was laughing for a good five minutes because of the crowd from her party stranded on her lawn was all due to a smoky oven by a burnt apple pie.

Abby buys apple pie from Kroger now.

Why bring that up? Because Abby knows her spaghetti may not be the best, even if it’s all store bought at this point, but it’s not _that_ bad to the point Clarke isn’t eating it at all.

“Everything okay, honey?” She finally asked her daughter, worry creeping through her.

Clarke looked up from pushing the noodles around with a fork to her mother. She nodded and said, “Yeah.”

Abby frowned as she watched her daughter go back to pushing the noodles. Obviously something wasn’t okay. Abby took a bite of her spaghetti and asked, “How was practice today?”

Abby wasn’t allowed to attend practice due to rules of the league stating she couldn’t be in attendance. She could guess it was a shit show though when she drove up to pick Clarke up. The girl looked upset, as did the rest of the team.

Clarke shrugged her shoulders and said, “Same old.”

That could very well mean two things: her practices or his practices. The two were _very_ distinctly different. She asked her, “Not fun?”

Her daughter shook her head as she finally took a bite of her dinner. The scene broke Abby’s heart a bit. She had never seen Clarke so upset after a practice before. She had always left hers with a smile on her face.

Abby asked her, “Too serious again?”

Clarke nodded as she set her fork down. Abby examined her as Clarke whispered, voice cracking the slightest bit, “It’s not fun at all, Mom.”

Abby’s heart broke a little more. She reached across the table and grabbed her daughter’s hand, giving it the lightest squeeze of comfort. As Clarke looked up to make eye contact with her mom, Abby told her, “Marcus doesn’t know the definition of fun.”

Clarke laughed a little and squeezed her mom’s hand back. They let each other go and Clarke wiped at her eyes, not letting the tears fall. She admitted to her, “I miss you there. I miss sharks and minnows. I miss when soccer was fun.”

Abby frowned and looked down to her own spaghetti. She twirled it around her fork for a while before looking back to Clarke. She said more to herself than to her daughter, “But he knows what’s best doesn’t he?”

Clarke chuckled a bit and Abby smiled.

They both went back to eating when silence fell between them. Clarke was actually eating her spaghetti but still looked like something was on her mind. After a small mental battle, Clarke looked to her mom, asking, “You know what I’m thinking about?”

“That I should’ve stuck to using Prego sauce instead?”

Clarke laughed, a smiling gracing her face again. “Besides that,” Clarke said.

Abby shook her head, feeling the light mood turn the slightest bit serious. Clarke set her fork down as she looked up to their ceiling. A faint smile found its way to her lips as she told her mom, “I’m thinking of the time Dad convinced you take the surgeon job at Arkadia Hospital.”

Abby fell silent. It definitely wasn’t what Abby thought Clarke was thinking of. Suddenly very nervous, she asked her daughter, “Oh, you are? Why?”

Clarke looked from the ceiling to her mother, the smile adorning her lips now sad. She told her, “Just getting a sense of déjà vu, that’s all.”

That peaked Abby’s interest. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity and asked her, “Really? How so?”

Clarke shrugged as she picked up her fork once again, swirling the noodles. She explained, “This whole situation, really.”

“Situation?”

Abby was getting nervous, knowing where this conversation was headed. She felt like the kid and Clarke was going to lecture her for having her elbows on the dinner table.

“You know,” Clarke elaborated, “this whole thing with Kane. It’s different than it has been over the years.”

Abby couldn’t say Clarke was wrong because she _was_ right. The two used to fight and tease each other but the hatred they shared between each other was never real hatred. It was a rivalry that didn’t cause the riff that existed between them now.

Abby asked, “How does that give you a sense of déjà vu for when I changed jobs?”

Clarke made eye contact with her mom again and asked, “You don’t see it?”

Abby felt a little attacked if she was being honest. What was the relevance between the two? Jake had pestered her nonstop for a week about the job interview and told her that the job would change her life. Abby didn’t want to transfer jobs to a superior position at a top rated hospital. She was afraid of failing their expectations.

It clicked. Clarke saw the lightbulb go off above her mother’s head and she smiled at her. “Got it?”

Abby nodded and shoved a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth. She was preparing herself for the lecture Clarke was sure to give her.

Clarke leaned back in her chair again, head tilting towards the ceiling again. She spoke fondly of the memory, “Dad pestered you all week to go to the interview. He tried bribing you with chocolate. God knows how you didn’t fall for that.”

Abby couldn’t believe she didn’t either. He had bought her favorite brand and there was _a lot_ of chocolate waiting for her at home after her regular shift at her old hospital. It did taste good though.

“I was six when this was happening. I vaguely remember it but at the same time I remember it so vividly. I was supposed to be in bed but I didn’t want to sleep because Dad had snuck ice cream to me behind your back-”

“He did _what?_ ”

Clarke burst into laughter, her eyes coming from the ceiling to meet her mom’s. Hers were sparkling with light humor, telling her, “Another story for another time.”

“Mhmm,” Abby narrowed her eyes at her, shoving more spaghetti into mouth. Jake was a lucky man Abby couldn’t reach him to shake sense into him. They had agreed no sugar for Clarke after eight since it wound her up. She wondered how many times he had snuck sugar to Clarke behind her back.

“But, anyways,” Clarke continued, “the point is I heard you two talking on the patio that night. He wasn’t trying to bribe you into it or joke about it. It was a serious conversation about your future.”

Abby remembered that night well. They sat on their wooden bench that sat on their patio. It had been a wedding gift from his parents, one him and his father built forever ago.

Clarke said, “I remember you telling Dad how scared you were of leaving Polis Hospital. You said you were comfortable there, you had a great reputation with everyone in the staff and patients. You told him that you didn’t want to leave it for something else, uncertain if it would hold the same environment.”

Abby had said all that. She was afraid her skills would be less of those with years of experience in that staff, resulting in her not having the good welcoming feeling she had at Polis Hospital.

“And you know what Dad told you?” Clarke asked her.

She did know what Jake told her. Abby decided to not answer though, watching her plate.

“He told you that someone like you brought that feeling wherever you went,” Clarke told her, a fond smiling gracing her lips. “He also told you that in life you’re going have to take risks that may seem scary since they may change everything.”

The relation between the situations was clear as day. “You were scared of the change taking the job would ensure. You’d be set on a higher standard, you’d be working in a different environment than the one you worked for ten years in, and you’d be working with brand new people. Sound familiar?”

A little too familiar for Abby’s liking. She set her fork down as Clarke watched her. She didn’t continue on until her mother made eye contact with her. “But you took that leap of faith, you had hope that things would work out. You trusted the support you had from Dad and trusted Arkadia Hospital to offer you great opportunities.”

Going to that interview had been nerve wrecking. Abby felt underdressed and overdressed at the same time. She felt like a low end surgeon compared to those who walked by her as she waited for the interview. But one look at the wedding ring on her finger gave her the confidence she needed to walk into that interview as if she was already the top surgeon there.

“It worked out,” Clarke summarized.

Abby nodded, thinking of how she got a call back that same night. Even when she broke the news to her boss at Polis Hospital, he had told her he knew she would go onto greater things. He told her he was happy he was able to get her on her feet. “It did,” Abby commented.

Clarke sighed as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. She set it down on the table and said, “I know how afraid you were to give up the Lifesavers and coach with Kane. Trust me, we were scared too. We didn’t hear good things from Jasper that his brother had told him.”

The two laughed at that. Abby had heard her gossip mainly from Cece and the other parents but she did hear a thing or two from Jasper here and there.

“You felt comfortable with our little team, even if were in last place,” Clarke told her. “We all enjoyed it and had fun, something you made sure was the number one reason we were there. You knew that wasn’t a priority on Kane’s list and it terrified you to think that would change. That’s how it’s similar to the job situation.”

Abby knew she was scared of that. What was worse that when her fears came true, she didn’t react in the right way. Last time, with the job, things had turned out right. This time, however, they didn’t. It resulted in arguments and lying; it resulted in this mess between them.

“I know you thought of it too, but we all had the small feeling of hope that maybe combining with Kane would give us a win,” Clarke confessed. “We were fine with last place but who doesn’t want a win? I know how much you wanted one for us and we wanted to give you one.”

Abby didn’t think her want for a win was that outwardly expressed but maybe the kids had read into one of her many outbursts that stated otherwise. Oh well, not everyone can be perfect in those regards, and Abby wasn’t known for it.

“Now,” Clarke added, “I don’t want you to think Kane is our savior and that he is the solution we’ve been waiting for. Obviously that’s crap. He only won game and that was against us.”

Abby wanted to record that and put it on loop through a stereo and stand outside Marcus’ house as she held it up for him to hear all night.

“He’s going through the same process, truly,” Clarke said. “He’s a part of the solution, like the surgeon job was. The job had the staff, the patients, and the environment involved. Now we have him, his kids, and new game plays. All of those were different from the old to the new image.”

Looking at it, Abby saw the differences Clarke stated. Polis Hospital wasn’t as big so the staff was close and personal. Arkadia Hospital was _huge_ and the staff really only knew those in their department unless they branched out themselves. For their teams, Abby had kids who grew up thinking fun was the biggest priority. Marcus had trained his kids that hard work was the main priority.

“That’s where the change comes in,” Clarke told her. “Like with the surgeon job, you had to adjust to the new staff, patients, and environment. You made changes with how you handled patients and how you communicated with co-workers. I’m guessing some of those weren’t easy for you to make but you did it because in your job you needed to succeed, but mainly because you wanted to succeed.”

When Abby had first met Emori, the two did not click at all. Emori was younger than her but had scored an internship at Arkadia Hospital in the past years. Both tried to outcompete the other until an almost fatal mistake happened in surgery. Afterwards, they reached a compromising point on how to work with each other.

Ever since, the two have climbed to the top together as a few of Arkadia Hospital’s top surgeons.

“The same is going to have to happen with Kane. You’re going to have to learn new game plans, formations, certain techniques, and…new positions,” Clarke’s voice fall off towards the end of the sentence.

Abby’s eyes shot to hers, fear prickling her skin. She knew what topic the conversation was turning to, but it didn’t mean she was prepared for it. To be honest, she never thought she would be.

“I’ve heard you argue with Kane about me playing defense, Mom,” Clarke admitted. Abby flushed with embarrassment. “You’re not wrong, I love playing forward.”

Abby was a bit confused, thinking maybe she was going to win this argument once and for all. Then Clarke bit her lip and looked to her plate, saying, “But I really do enjoy playing defense. I can see the whole field and I feel like I can be the leader I want to be from there. I feel like I contribute more to the team there than I do at forward.”

Abby fell silent, not sure what to think. She did know her heart was breaking in her chest however. She felt certain that Clarke loved forward. When Abby was the coach of the Lifesavers, Clarke always jumped at the opportunity to play forward. Where did defense come from?

“Now, don’t think I’m defending Kane for what he did on Saturday, because I’m not,” Clarke explained. “However, he wasn’t wrong when he said me being at defense will help benefit us. And you know what? And you weren’t wrong either. I did love playing forward for the Lifesavers, but I don’t play for them anymore. I play for the Delinquents.”

It was like a bow and arrow match. It was one of many arrows that had already struck her in the heart. Abby and Marcus had fought a lot on the sideline of whose tactic would work better as if they still were on two different teams. They weren’t compromising to work together for what would work for the Delinquents.

“Things changed and I realized that I’m more useful on defense than up top. I’m willing to make that change for our team so we can succeed. I want you to know this because I’m going to be Dad for a moment,” Clarke said. “It’s okay to change for when the time calls for it.”

Abby felt the tears go down her cheeks before she noticed she was crying. She knew Clarke was right. Things needed to change, not only her side but Marcus’ too, and they needed to change _fast_. She had tackled change once and it succeed. This time could as well, even if it was a rough start.

It _was_ like the surgeon job. It was rocky at first with Emori but they came together after a fallout. Abby could conclude, although not as serious, that she and Marcus had their fallout this past Saturday. He would have to recognize the wrong he did and apologize and Abby would apologize for her side as well.

A hand wrapped around Abby’s and she lifted her head to meet the comforting gaze of Clarke. She offered her mom a small smile, telling her, “It’s gonna be scary, but just like it was with Dad, you have a whole team to back you up. Yes, even Kane. I know deep down he doesn’t want you to fail.”

Abby doubted that at first but deep down, she believed it. All because deep down in her, she too supported Marcus. If he lost the game on the upcoming Saturday, then it was game over. Forever. She couldn’t give up on him, no matter how wrong he did her.

“I think he’s frustrated just like you are,” Clarke told her, “because you guys can’t see eye to eye. You both have great traits that contributed to your teams separately, but now as co-coaches or whatever you call yourselves, you need to combine those traits.”

Abby agreed and stayed silent, wiping her tears with her free hand. There was nothing she could do now unless Marcus won on Saturday against Ice Nation. It was all up to him this time, truly. If- _When_ he won that game, Abby would ensure they would sit down and work this out.

There was only one problem with that. Abby stated it, “I want to do that. I want what’s best for the team and if it means changing, then I’ll have to trust what will happen is what is meant to happen. The only problem is…what Marcus did Saturday… Clarke, can you believe he did that?”

Clarke was silent for a while as she contemplated the thought. She finally said, “It wasn’t okay what he did. I can you tell you this though. Like you said on the bench that game, that wasn’t Kane. He can act all tough he wants but Octavia’s told me he’s a softie. There’s no way he made that decision without some sort of influence.”

“Influence?” Abby repeated her, mind reeling to find one. Almost immediately, her brain landed on a single man who had influenced her the past three weekends with his bullshit.

That man was using their bickering to his advantage. He was using their situation against them so they would be their own downfall. He was doing it because he felt threatened by them.

But it had worked. And if you didn’t think Abby was imagining her car running him over in the parking lot, you were wrong.

“Cage,” the two said simultaneously.

“God, he’s _annoying_ ,” Abby groaned, much worse adjectives bouncing around her mind. Hey, she _did_ try to control her swearing in the household. The soccer field was free range.

Clarke nodded in agreement and let go of Abby’s hand. She said, “I saw him talking to Kane after I pulled you two apart after the game against Alpha Station. I figured he was being himself.”

You know how pathetic you had to be that a twelve year old is annoyed by you? Not even just one, but thirteen of them. Yeah, pretty pathetic.

Abby shrugged and said, “He caught us at a vulnerable time and used it against us. He won that battle, but the war isn’t over. We’ll get him back in that championship game.”

“And I can’t wait,” Clarke smiled as she picked her fork back up.

Abby did as well, swirling noodles on it. She took a bite of it and noticed they had went cold. Damn, they must’ve talked for a while.

She looked up to see the same reaction from Clarke. Clarke looked up to meet her mother’s gaze. Abby asked, “Pizza?”

+

“How about we get pizza tonight? We can get your favorite, Octavia! Bacon and pepperoni!” Marcus looked to his daughter in his rearview mirror.

She hadn’t talked the whole car ride home. All she did was watch out the window and ignore her father.

Marcus couldn’t figure out why she was so upset or any of the kids for that matter. Practice had went well he thought.

They worked hard and focused on their game plans that needed improvement from their last game. They also developed a strategy to shut down a common attack from Ice Nation. On Thursday, they would perfect it more.

That’s why he was so confused on why Octavia looked upset the whole practice and after. Even Bellamy looked upset.

He pulled into the driveway of their house and parked the car. He shut it off and looked back to the kids. He frowned, asking, “No?”

Octavia said nothing as she exited the car and ran into the house. Bellamy and Marcus watched her from the car. Marcus looked back to his son in confusion and Bellamy told him, “We need to talk.”

Marcus was a little taken back. Had his son, twelve years old, just told him that they needed to talk? Was Marcus about to be lectured by his _son_? Did he mention he was _twelve_?

Marcus didn’t respond as they both exited the car. He walked into the house, Bellamy following behind him. Octavia was nowhere in sight as she must have ran off to her room.

Marcus shut the front door and locked it behind him. Bellamy dropped his bag off by the door, next to Octavia’s. He looked to his dad and said, “I’m up for pizza.”

Marcus chuckled, rubbing a hand through the kid’s mess of hair and lead him to the kitchen. As Bellamy sat at the table, Marcus ordered the pizza on the phone. The whole time, he felt himself getting nervous for this talk with Bellamy. He felt like he was in trouble.

When Marcus finished the order, he set his cellphone on the counter. He looked up to make eye contact with his son. Bellamy pointed to his father’s usual seat at the dinner table and told him, “Have a seat.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow at that and asked, “Did you forget who is in charge here?”

Bellamy raised an eyebrow back and stated, “I’m not the one in trouble.”

So he _was_ in trouble. That peaked Marcus’ interest as well as his nerves. What was he in trouble for? Practice? The game on Saturday? Did he not order the right pizza?

Marcus made his way over to his chair and slowly sank into it. He folded his hands on the table and asked Bellamy, “What am I in trouble for?”

“Too many things to count on my fingers,” Bellamy commented.

Dread found its way through Marcus’ system. Bellamy’s face and voice had shown he was being serious and it wasn’t about the pizza. How many things could have Marcus done to make him this upset?

“That might’ve been an exaggeration,” Bellamy admitted, Marcus mentally sighing, “but there are a few things.”

Marcus nodded as he settled back in his chair, asking, “And what are they?”

Bellamy didn’t answer right away. He was looking at the ceiling and tapping his fingers against the table. Finally, he looked away from the ceiling and to the pictures hanging on the wall. In every picture there were the same three people: Bellamy, Octavia, and Marcus.

Marcus followed his son’s eye movement, feeling his nerves kicking back in. Soon, they made eye contact again. Bellamy looked upset and he asked his father, “Do you remember that promise you made us six years ago?”

Marcus knew exactly what promise he was talking about. His eyes shot to the pictures on the wall, taking into account that a certain person was not present in any. She hadn’t been since six years ago.

His eyes made their way back to Bellamy but he didn’t say a word. He had a dreadful feeling of knowing where the conversation was going. He didn’t want that; he didn’t want to admit it.

Bellamy seemed to be lost in a memory, confliction resting on his facial expression. He focused on his father again, settling for saying, “I didn’t think I would ever have to admit this, but I feel with this situation, I need to.”

That made Marcus even more nervous. What did his promise from six years ago have to do with the present? What from that night six years ago would be relevant to their situation? What was the situation?

“I never told you it because I didn’t feel like I would ever have to,” Bellamy confessed. He looked a bit embarrassed. “Before…before I told you about Mom that night…” His world fell short, looking down to the table.

Slowly, Marcus reached across the table and took ahold of one of Bellamy’s hands. He could feel his son shaking under his touch and it broke his heart. That night wasn’t easy on any of them. Bellamy looked up to meet his father’s gaze and nodded to him.

He sighed, it coming out shaky. He continued, “I knew about the affair before that night.”

It was like a bomb went off. Marcus felt the dread he had seep into him and speed through his veins. He felt sick all the sudden. Surprise was the biggest emotion he felt as he asked him, “You did?”

Bellamy nodded and told his dad, “I had come home early from Miller’s because his dad had an emergency. Mom didn’t answer her phone so his dad dropped me off. I walked into the house and….and I found them.”

Marcus could only think how scarring it must have been to be a six year old to see their mother doing things with a random man when their father wasn’t home.

Marcus asked, “How long before you told me?”

Bellamy looked away from his father, afraid he’d be mad at him, saying, “Two weeks.”

Marcus didn’t respond right away. Two weeks Bellamy had known that his mother was sleeping with her co-worker behind his father’s back. When Marcus had found out, it was because Bellamy had called him one night when he was at a client’s house for a lawsuit and Bellamy said it was an emergency. Marcus didn’t expect to find his wife of ten years to be sleeping with her co-worker on the bed they shared when he came home.

Marcus wasn’t mad at Bellamy. He was mainly confused. He asked him, “Why didn’t you tell me then?”

Bellamy didn’t look back to his father as he complemented his answer. He finally told him, “Because when I found them, Mom rushed to assure me it was okay. She was telling me it made her happy.”

It was like the knife from six years ago that was still jabbing his heart got twisted. He felt _pain_ from that statement. He knew the last year of their marriage was rocky but he had thought that they were making amends. Obviously, he wasn’t the one making them.

Bellamy shrugged and told his father, “I did ask about you. I asked if you made her happy and she said it was too complicated for me to understand.” He looked up to Marcus then and added, “I know that’s bullshit now.”

Marcus laughed a little, not scolding his son for his language. Marcus knew he learned the word from Abby. Just thinking of her made him feel guilty all the sudden. He remembered Bellamy had said it reminded him of a certain situation. Was he talking about Abby?

“She was right though,” he admitted, “I didn’t understand then. I was six years old and I wanted my mom and dad. She knew that too. So, she bribed me with buying me whatever I wanted from the comic store if I kept quiet about it.”

Marcus had wondered where Bellamy was getting all those comics from. Marcus knew he bought them for him for his birthday and Christmas. Once in a while he would buy Bellamy one just so he could have another, but the kid had accumulated ten in one week.

“I was six,” Bellamy shrugged. “I got to keep my parents and have comics whenever I wanted. It was a dream for a six year old.”

Marcus couldn’t blame Bellamy. He understood that. Maybe a little too much with his previous actions this past Saturday.

A question popped into Marcus’ mind. He asked, “What made you tell me?”

Bellamy finally looked to his father and frowned. He told him, “I noticed things after that. I saw the smiles she was giving you. I saw the goodbye kisses she gave you. I knew they were fake, she knew it too. The problem was you didn’t.”

Bellamy looked back to his hand that his father was still holding. He continued, “Octavia and I could feel the tension or whatever it was between you and Mom before then. We knew something was off.”

Marcus had tried so hard to keep their marriage problems away from the kids. He didn’t want them to see the affect it was having on them. More importantly, he didn’t want it to affect them.

“After finding out about her and that guy,” Bellamy said, “I saw how fake she was being with you. You thought it was improving but she was faking it. You didn’t deserve that.”

Marcus felt the knife twist again. He had thought their marriage was on the mend weeks before he found out about the affair. He thought he was doing something right. Like stated before, he obviously wasn’t the one making her happy.

“The more I thought of it, you didn’t deserved to be lied to,” Bellamy told him. “You thought everything was okay and she wanted you to think that. She wanted both us and that guy. She was being selfish.”

He looked up to his father, frowning. He added, “She was doing it behind your back.”

The familiarity of the situations Bellamy had brought up struck Marcus like a train. The severity of the situations didn’t line up but the tactics and the reasoning behind them sure did. His wife had cheated behind his back, lied to him, and did it because she was selfish.

Marcus had went behind Abby’s back and lied to her about the game time on Saturday. He had purposefully told her the game got moved because he wanted to prove he could win without her but mainly because he wanted to win. He didn’t want to lose his job. He did it out selfish reasons.

“That’s why I told you,” Bellamy concluded. He pulled his hand from his father’s and ran it through his messy hair. He shrugged, adding, “It wasn’t right for her to do that.”

Marcus agreed completely. But how hypocritical was he being? He had done the same thing to Abby not even a week ago.

He hadn’t felt guilty for doing it initially. He was too focused on that fact that he needed to win and prove he was the better coach. Was that how his ex-wife felt? Did she not feel guilty while committing the act? Did she at all after?

There were better ways to approach the solution to that, so why did he choose the path he did? Especially after what he promised.

Bellamy asked him, “You remember that promise you made us that night? After you kicked Mom and that guy out?”

He did. He didn’t want to say it though because he knew both him and Bellamy knew he had broken that promise on Saturday.

Bellamy stated it anyways when his father didn’t answer, “You promised us that you would never do what Mom did.”

Marcus hung his head in shame, waiting for Bellamy to state the obvious. He did without hesitation. “And you broke that promise. You did the exact same thing with Coach Griffin on Saturday.”

Deafening silence fell between the two as realization came crashing down. Marcus already knew it but Bellamy telling him made it worse. It made it real. It made him feel like shit.

Marcus had felt terrible after he found out about his wife. He swore to himself and the kids he would never be that person. Look at him now, being _that_ person. He didn’t even realize it until his son pointed it out.

And, boy, did he feel guilty. He could only imagine what Abby felt like. She was probably feeling the same way he had been when he was in her place. How could he put her through that, knowing what it felt like?

He couldn’t answer himself. He couldn’t find a reason why he would put her through that or why he would ever think that was okay.

He shook his head. What was he thinking? Abby was right when she said the old Marcus would’ve never done what he did. It was a Cage thing to do.

 He tried to come up with a reason, telling Bellamy, “I never meant for it to get to that point. I would never think of doing that.” He shook his head, disappointed in himself. “I was so worked up over the fact that we _had_ to win the next game and Abby in general. Jaha had told her then to not let her ego get the best of her but I let mine get the best of me.”

He thought of when Octavia ran off the bench crying. He thought of the disappointment she must have felt. She probably saw her mother in her father then. She caught it right away but he didn’t.

All he ever did for the team, it was for to make her happy. He wanted them all to be happy. He thought winning would make them happy, so he had done what he thought would give them that.

He added on, “I just want you guys happy. I thought winning would make you happy. And we needed that win to keep going, to keep you guys happy.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Bellamy told his father. Marcus looked to his son as Bellamy continued, “Octavia told me about how you asked Coach Griffin if she asks Clarke what makes her happy. You know what she asked me?”

Marcus didn’t know and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. Bellamy told him, “She wants to know why you don’t do the same. She asked me why you don’t ask her what makes her happy.”

It was because he figured he knew what made her happy. He asked Bellamy, “It’s not winning, is it?”

Bellamy shook his head and told him, “You know that but you don’t want to admit it. You know what makes her happy, you’ve seen it. Again, you don’t want to admit it. Sound familiar?”

Abby immediately rang through his mind. He told her the exact same thing. Had he been that oblivious too? How many times had he been a hypocrite to Abby?

“What is it?” Marcus asked

“If you don’t know,” Bellamy said, “then why don’t you ask her at practice Thursday?”

Marcus fell silent as he thought over Bellamy’s words. He had fucked up. _Bad_.

He still couldn’t believe he had done what he promised he would never do. He was ashamed of himself. It was like Abby had said, he couldn’t tell himself apart from Cage. That would have been a move Cage would have executed if he felt threatened.

A spark went off in his mind. He was still Marcus and he knew he would never make that decision himself. He was in a vulnerable state then, emotions high and desperate to keep his job. He was desperate to win.

Cage found him during a vulnerable time, not by coincidence if Marcus guessed, and used it to his advantage.

He fueled the fire between Abby and himself. He was turning them against each other and waiting for one to crack and turn against the other. It was Marcus who cracked and done what he did.

What made Marcus curious about the situation was why. Why did Cage feel the need to fuel their fire and destroy them? If he was confident enough that the Delinquents can’t beat him, then why would he bother with trying to mess them up?

It was because Cage felt threatened. Just like he felt with Indra’s team.

The coincidences of Cage’s involvement with Indra’s team having to collapse and Marcus’ sudden outlandish decision were making him skeptical. His mind flashed back to when he had run into Cage after the game on Saturday.

He had told Marcus he was happy with the decision he made concerning Abby. He was on the phone with Nia after learning that they were advancing to the semifinals. It was screaming sketchy but Marcus couldn’t place a finger on it completely. It did make him feel uneasy though.

With the results of his decision, he was now going to have to face Ice Nation alone. Abby would be at the game but she would be on the sideline.

Now, he was trying to figure out when he would get the chance to apologize to her for his actions without getting hit by her car. He was pretty sure she wanted to do that. It wouldn’t be the first time he thought she wanted to. He’s seen that glint in her eye before and has heard the threat many times.

He looked back to Bellamy who was getting out from his seat. There was a faint knocking at the door, indicating that the pizza was here.

Marcus looked down to his hands, frowning. Unlike the other times, this time, he would deserve being hit by her car.

Trust wasn’t easy for them to begin with. They didn’t trust each other coming in and whatever progress they had created over the last weeks was now destroyed by what he had done.

He knew if they wanted to succeed, they would have to work together. They couldn’t keep competing with each other, especially if it brought out this side in him. It wasn’t good for him or the team. It made him into a man her never wanted to be.

He wanted what was best for the team; he wanted them happy.

Marcus watched as Bellamy handed the pizza man money from his wallet and grab the pizza. Marcus then looked to Octavia’s room, where the door was still shut firmly.

Abby knew what made Octavia happy, just like he knew defense made Clarke happy. Marcus didn’t want to admit sharks and minnows made Octavia happy because he didn’t think highly of the drill. He didn’t want her tactics, from a lesser coach, to be the reason his daughter was happy.

He was, once again, being selfish.

Bellamy brought the pizza to the table and told his father, “I’ll go get Octavia.” Marcus didn’t reply as Bellamy walked off.

But, if the game made Octavia happy and it helped her improve, then Marcus would have to swallow his pride. He may not like the game, as it takes away time for serious drills, but he would have to accept the fact that everything didn’t have to be serious.

He wasn’t ignorant to the fact that the kids’ emotions at today’s practice were drastically different than they were when Abby ran sharks and minnows.

When Abby ran it, the kids were chatty and more engaging. When Abby didn’t run it and he ran it how he wanted, the kids didn’t seem happy or interested.

He may have pestered Abby for being ignorant for change, punished her for it even, but he was at fault as well. He just didn’t have someone to pull a stunt like he did for him to realize it. The kids were enough evidence.

He heard two pairs of footsteps making their way back to the table and he looked behind him to see a grumpy Octavia going to her usual spot at the table. Bellamy had grabbed paper plates and gave them each one.

Bellamy immediately dug in as the other two waited. The two were watching each other.

Marcus had never told Abby she was wrong when she called herself a terrible coach. Yes, Abby was a terrible coach but only in certain areas. In regards of having fun and engaging the kids, Abby was the better coach of the two.

In that aspect, Marcus was the lesser coach. He was terrible at it.

Combine their best traits however, as they canceled out each other’s bad traits, they could really do something spectacular.

If Marcus truly wanted to make Octavia happy, he had to change the way he coached. He would have to make adjustments to his serious schedule for practice and compromise some time for the game.

He was sure Abby was going through the same realization, a realization that they needed to adjust their coaching and _actually_ work together. He had just wished he hadn’t put her through what he did to make her realize it.

Or maybe she wasn’t going through it. Maybe she was still fuming with rage from what he had done. He would surely understand that.

She may be waiting for Saturday to roll up. She may be waiting to see if he can prove what he had told her- that he could win without her. She may be waiting for him to crash and burn. She may be waiting to tell him, “I told you so,” if he loses the game.

And Marcus wouldn’t blame her.


	17. Don’t be afraid of change; sometimes change is good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Marcus does know the definition of fun!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS- just wanted to give a shoutout to every who reads, kudos, and comments !! i see every one of you and it makes me day. bless you, much love from me to you!!! :) *insert 8465960 heart emojis*

Marcus wasn’t sure why he was so scared.

He didn’t have to look both ways in the parking lot five times before crossing to make sure Abby wasn’t waiting to run him over as she wasn’t allowed at practice due to league rules.

So, why the _fuck_ did it feel like he was back in law school, participating in his first mock trial? Unlike then, he could sneak in shots of whiskey when they weren’t looking.

Hey, everyone’s not perfect and whiskey _did_ help soothe his nerves. Not to mention he _did_ win the case.

There were too many eyes on him for him to try and sneak any. Especially, when one set of eyes were always on the lookout for you fucking up. If you guessed Jaha, then you guessed right.

Marcus wasn’t sure how Abby did it, between the sneaking in shots and dealing with Jaha. The former probably helped with the latter.

And if Marcus was honest, Abby didn’t hide her shots. She took them in plain sight.

She never got drunk or tipsy at practice, she just needed the buzz of the single shot to shake of the annoyance she probably felt 24/7. With how Marcus could see Raven waiting “patiently” for practice to start as she “innocently” held her hands behind her back, he understood why Abby needed those shots.

He regarded Raven with a curious gaze and asked her, “What are you doing, Raven?”

She offered him a too innocent smile and told him, “Waiting for practice to start at the right time.”

How perfect. She could wait for the perfect moment to pull a prank but not for when to go into a tackle. This practice looked promising already.

“Well,” he replied, “we’re about to start.”

“Perfect!”

That didn’t ease his nerves. Now, adding onto his nerves for practice already, he was nervous about the inevitable prank that was coming.

He didn’t reply to Raven as he began to turn towards his equipment bag, where Octavia was lacing her cleats up.

She hadn’t talked to Marcus following practice on Tuesday. Today was Thursday, their last practice before they versed Ice Nation on Saturday. He had spent the past few nights going over his plans for practice, throwing out many drills and staying up late to recreate new ones.

Who knew how hard it was to build fun into practice?

As if that was her cue, he caught the familiar squeal of tires from the parking lot. He and the parents all looked over to see Abby’s car, a red SUV, halting to a stop by the sidewalk. Seconds later, Clarke hopped out of the car and began walking to the field.

As if sensing him, Abby’s eyes shifted from her daughter to him. Neither reacted right away. Then after a moment, she flipped him off and her tires squealed once again as her car took off from the parking lot.

It reminded him a lot of their first meeting, the beginning of their relationship.

_The sun was out, no clouds, and the temperature was only rising as the day went on. What a great day for soccer, especially for the Assassin’s first game of the season._

_The only thing ruining the perfect day was the packed parking lot._

_The first weekend of season was always crowded. When the season dragged on, games were spread out a bit more. For the first set though, Pike liked to line them up together for a big opening weekend._

_It worked in a sense if they had a big enough parking lot._

_Marcus had been searching for a parking spot for the last ten minutes. Every time he thought he found one, someone else found it first. Octavia was getting restless in the back and Marcus had to remind her many times to keep her seatbelt on._

_And when a red SUV sped by, definitely going way over the speed limit for a parking lot, Marcus told her that’s why._

_As they continued their journey in the parking lot, he found a free space in the row he was driving down. He also saw the same red SUV from before in the next row over. He heard its squealing tires, as if the driver saw the open spot too._

_“I hope your seatbelt is still on,” Marcus told Octavia as he floored the gas pedal._

_Their car launched forward as he raced to the open spot. He was a few spots away from it as he watched the red SUV swerve around the corner, aiming for it as well._

_He swung his car out far enough and sharply yanked the wheel, cutting the red SUV off. He got a loud horn in result as he pulled into the parking spot._

_Bellamy and Octavia were watching out the window as Marcus put the car in park. Octavia exclaimed, “Awesome!!!!”_

_Marcus shut the car off and exited the car, his car door closing behind him. He figured cutting the driver off would end their competition but he was wrong. The driver of the red SUV pulled up behind his car, their window rolling down._

_He was surprised to find a woman behind the wheel, cursing him out in front of her daughter in the backseat. He couldn’t make out exactly why she was throwing at him, but he knew children shouldn’t hear it._

_He got closer to her car as she finished yelling by saying, “You drive like an asshole!”_

_To say she was being a hypocrite was nothing far from the truth. He told her, “Says the one who sped by me first.”_

_It didn’t seem she was expecting a retort and it caught her off guard for a second. She quickly regained her composure, glaring at him. She changed topics and pointed where his car was parked. “You stole my spot.”_

_“Really?” Marcus bent over and he examined the cement where his car was parked. He stood up and looked back to her, an eyebrow raised, and said, “I don’t see your name on it.”_

_Her hand that was resting on the steering wheel tightened as he saw fire erupt in her eyes. She didn’t have a response as she examined the man before her._

_His two kids walked up to be beside him and Marcus nudged his head towards the other end of the parking lot. He told her, “I think another spot opened up down there. Don’t worry, I’m sure with the way you drive, you’ll get there in no time.”_

_The fire burned brighter as the woman put her car into drive. She spat back at him, “Don’t worry about my driving when you should be worrying about the unhealthy amount of hair gel you’re using.”_

_And with that, her tires squealed as her car peeled off towards an open space._

_Marcus watched her car speed down the parking lot as he crossed over to the fields. First game of the season, first time coaching, and he’s already fighting parents in the parking lot. What more surprises could the day bring?_

_Much to Marcus’ liking and to the woman’s demise, their first game of the season was against each other._

_Similarly, to Marcus’ liking and Abby’s (he later learned) demise, he had won that game._

_The way she shook his hand a little too hard after the game, the too innocent smile, and the too kind congratulatory message all added up to what Marcus could believe would become a great rivalry._

Oh _boy_ , was he right.

He watched the parking lot, and more specifically, the spot where his car was parked. It was in the same spot as that day. Ever since that day, they both fought over the spot, even if there were other spots available. They went the extra mile to piss the other off.

It was one of many things that they did to each to spite the other.

The feeling of guilt washed over him again as he thought of last Saturday. He definitely did it to spite her but it was different that time. It wasn’t teasing and it wasn’t meant as a joke. He had done it to hurt her.

Shaking it off, he would deal with that situation later, he opened his equipment bag. First, he had to tackle the situation of practice.

He was nervous on how the practice would turn out. Like before, he had spent the last three days trying to figure out new drills to incorporate fun. If you guessed the result, he failed.

Wasn’t fun supposed to come naturally? So why the hell couldn’t he make a simple drill fun?

He really sucked at having fun.

So, he just decided to stick to his old practice plan. Like every practice, they would start off with possession. They would then perfect their counter attack to one of Ice Nation’s strongest attacks. To end practice they would run through their game plans roughly.

“Wait a minute,” Marcus spoke aloud but mainly to himself. Octavia looked over to him as she finished double knotting her cleats. He kept pulling out pennies from his bag, searching it until it was empty. “These pennies aren’t mine.”

Raven waddled over and leaned to the side, coming into Marcus’ eyesight the slightest. Her tone was a bit _too_ innocent when she asked, “What’s wrong, Coach?”

He turned to look at her, eyes narrowing a pinch. He tilted his head as he regarded her. “These pennies aren’t mine,” he told her.

Raven stepped closer and peered to the pennies laying around his feet. She looked up to meet his gaze and commented, “Nope, they’re actual pennies, so they’re not yours.”

Marcus ignored that. He asked her, “And would you have any idea whose these are?” More importantly, how they were here and why his weren’t.

Raven looked back to the pennies and examined them as she bent over for a closer look. Marcus took note of how she didn’t reach to pick one up, but kept her hands behind her back. Looking back to him, she told him, “Abby’s.”

“Abby’s?”

“Yup,” she popped the ending and smiled big. Her hands came from behind her back and she threw them at him. He braced for an impact of God knows what was in her hands. What hit him was confetti. He was absolutely confused as she shouted, “Congrats!”

“Congrats?” He was busy picking confetti out of his hair.

Raven kept picking the confetti off the ground and throwing it back on him. He soon gave up taking it off and let her have at it. She said, “Coach Abby brought them to my house to bring here. She said she may not be able to attend practice but, and I quote, ‘I’ll be damned if you kids have to wear those rags’.”

If there was a camera for Marcus to stare into in annoyance like on The Office, this would have been that moment. He wasn’t surprised; it was such an Abby thing to do, finding her way around the rules.

He shook his head one last time to get rid of as much of confetti as he can. “How nice of her,” he commented as he picked up several pennies.

He gathered the team together as he began to hand out pennies. They all knew the drill. Possession for warm up.

He offered a penny to Octavia and she stared at it for a good moment, eyes then flickering up to her dad. Marcus watched her as well, raising an eyebrow. She sighed and took it, walking away without a word.

He frowned, feeling his heart break the slightest. He didn’t have to say anything for the drill to start, Bellamy had grabbed a ball and began the drill.

Marcus exited the grid as he made his way back to bench. He put away the extra pennies as the woman who they belonged to flashed in his mind.

 _“ **This**  is a  **penny**? Where did you get it? The dollar store?” _ That was what she had said about his pennies. She then proceeded to mock his use of hair gel, saying if he spent less on that, then he could afford real pennies.

Unconsciously, he ran a hand through his hair. Confetti fell from the strands and slowly made their way to the ground. He hadn’t touched his hair gel since the practice she had run her hand through it. As if the memory was a lighter, it sparked a tiny flame in him.

He shook it from his mind, looking back to the grid. Bellamy’s team was watching as Clarke’s did pushups. The first team who completed ten passes in a row won that round. The losers had five pushups as punishment.

 _“So, what will the punishment be if they lose? Five ‘I’m a star!’ jumps?”_ Marcus thought it was a ridiculous punishment. As he watched Octavia struggle to do her pushups, he thought otherwise. None of the kids seemed to be able to do them correctly.

 _“What part of this is supposed to be fun?”_ As Marcus watched as a new round start, he couldn’t find the answer to her question. Last time he had answered the pennies sarcastically. He couldn’t use that as an excuse this time since they were using her pennies.

Almost immediately, his eyes fell on his daughter again. She wasn’t moving much around the grid, standing still in one corner. Usually, Marcus would’ve yelled at her to move or give her running as punishment. This time, however, he couldn’t find it in himself to bark such orders.

Just like the car ride home, he felt Bellamy’s burning gaze that shot guilt through him. He found Bellamy in the grid and Bellamy watched his father, shaking his head slightly.

That night returned to Marcus’ mind.

 _“You know what makes her happy, you’ve seen it. Again, you don’t want to admit it. Sound familiar?”_ That’s what Bellamy had told him and he wasn’t wrong. Marcus did know what made Octavia happy. He realized he had to change his coaching style.

He wanted to do better, _tried_ to do better, but he failed.

But had he tried to the fullest extent? The way Bellamy shook his head at his father indicated that he hadn’t. And Marcus knew exactly what he didn’t try.

“Go get water,” Marcus suddenly announced in the middle of their second round. The kids froze and looked over to him, all surprised. He nodded towards the bench, adding on, “Take off your pennies as well.”

The kids looked at each other. None of them moved for a short moment before Murphy began walking to the bench, saying, “I’m not complaining.” The other kids soon followed after.

Marcus left the bench as he went over and picked up the cones from the possession grid. He began setting up another drill, talking with no one as he did.

Clarke was sitting beside Octavia on the bench as she took a sip from her water bottle. She looked down to Octavia to see the girl watching her feet swing back and forth. Clarke frowned as she looked back up to continue watching Marcus.

Soon enough, Clarke recognized the grid Marcus was setting up. She lit up and shook Octavia’s shoulder. The girl looked from her feet to Clarke and asked, “What?”

Clarke said nothing as she smiled and pointed to where the girl’s father was. Confused, Octavia followed the direction of Clarke’s hand and found her father setting up a new grid. She didn’t recognize it at first, saying, “Wha-” but froze when she finally did recognize it. “Is that…?”

“Yup!” Clarke grinned big as Marcus set the last cone down.

He made his way over to kids who were looking at the grid he set up. They all came together but Marcus kept his focus on his daughter. This time, she was actually looking at him. He asked her, “Octavia? What would you like to do?”

The question caught her off guard, including her old Assassin teammates. Marcus had never asked any of them what they wanted to do. He had always had a preplanned schedule for practice and never strayed from it.

She glanced around the circle and her eyes landed on her twin brother. Bellamy offered her a smile and nodded, eyes flickering back to their dad. Octavia looked back to her father and told him, “Sharks and minnows.”

He grinned and said, “It’s a good thing that’s set up then, isn’t it?”

He saw the twitch of a smile forming on her lips, but he also the saw defiant daughter he had. She tried to keep the smile off her face (failing completely) and told him, “I would’ve made you set it up anyways.”

The kids laughed and so did Marcus. He clapped, looking around the circle of kids around him. “You know the drill,” he said. They all got up and started gathering their ball and going to the grid.

Murphy reached for a penny but Marcus put his hand on his shoulder, holding the boy back. He said, “I’m switching it up a bit. Clarke,” the two looked to find the girl collecting her ball. She looked to them and Marcus told her, “You’re the shark to begin.”

Clarke came over and Murphy walked off, going for his own ball. Marcus handed her a penny and Clarke teased him, “Are you doing this because my mom can’t tell you no?”

Her words may have been playful but they struck a guilty nerve deep down. He played it off as best as he could by telling her, “I’d do it anyways if she was here.”

Clarke laughed and slid it on over her head. “I know,” she commented and ran off to the grid.

He smiled a bit as he watched the drill begin. Clarke immediately went after Raven and knocked her ball out. She also got to Harper, making her join the shark gang. Raven complained as she put the penny on, “Man, there’s a different shark than Murphy for once, and I _still_ can’t get past the first round.”

“Might be a sign, sweetheart,” the gang heard Gaia yell out.

Raven glared at her and crossed her arms. “Oh, she is _so_ mine,” she said as fixed her penny.

The two other girls giggled in response and got ready for the next round. When it started, the three went after their targets.

Raven immediately stepped in front of Gaia, smirking. She told her, “Try your hardest.”

Gaia tilted her head to the side and responded, “I don’t think I’ll have to try very hard if I’m honest.”

That set Raven off and she charged towards Gaia. Gaia didn’t falter under the pressure and charged forward as well. When they got close, Gaia put her left foot on the ball to stop it slightly and twisted her body.

As she twisted, Raven was lunging forward with her right leg for a tackle. Mid-twist, Gaia’s left foot came off the ball to be replaced by her right foot. It followed her body’s momentum and she pulled the ball with her, past Raven.

She landed perfectly and exploded into the empty space towards to the safe zone. Once she crossed over, she trapped the ball and looked back to Raven. They made eye contact and Gaia asked, “Too eager to lose, are we?”

Marcus knew she was referring to Raven’s tendency to dive in and Raven ignored her, stomping off towards Monty, hoping to help Harper get him out.

Octavia was dribbling when Clarke stopped in front of her. Immediately, Octavia stopped her advance. Her eyes wondered to find Lincoln in the safe zone already. He gave her smile and nodded as he kicked his ball forward a bit.

She looked back to Clarke who was smiling at her too. Octavia nodded and ran forward with her ball. Clarke got into her defensive position as she watched the ball at Octavia’s feet.

Octavia lunged one way, Clarke leaning towards the same direction. Octavia then kicked the ball forward, aiming for between her legs. Clarke reacted in time and slid her back foot to close the space between her legs.

The ball ricocheted off her foot and rolled out of bounds. Octavia watched it and she frowned. Clarke was smiling and told her, “You almost got me that time!”

Octavia looked back to Clarke and told her, “I’ve been practicing in my room.”

Clarke grabbed her a penny and handed her it. She told her as she put it on, “Well, it’s paying off. Soon enough, you’ll be able to nutmeg your brother.”

“He’d have to stand still long enough first,” Octavia replied and the two laughed. They went back to the middle of the grid, waiting for the next round to begin.

Marcus watched with a small smile. Octavia had went forward and tried an actual move. She had gained some confidence to _try_ , and Marcus would be lying if he said he wasn’t proud. She might’ve not won the tackle but she was making progress.

And he couldn’t take credit either, he knew that. His drills and he himself hadn’t built that confidence up in Octavia. It had been Abby's drill and the support from Clarke and Lincoln. In building her confidence, they had made her happy.

The only thing he wished for had come true. He was grateful for that.

+

“Alright! Great practice today! Make sure to be ready a half hour before the game on Saturday!” Marcus called out to the rowdy kids.

They just finished a game of knock out. Everyone but one person had a ball and the mission was to be the last person with a ball. If your ball was knocked out of the grid, then you joined the group knocking out balls. The last one standing was the winner. Raven had suggested the game. It was her favorite game from the Lifesavers.

The last round had come down between Gaia and Clarke.

Octavia and Lincoln were trying to gang up on Clarke but she was doing a good job of fending them both off. She kept the ball close and tight to her body as she used it to shield them away for her ball.

Lexa and Murphy were trying to knock Gaia’s ball out but she was dribbling circles around them, not standing still for any moment. The rest of the team was sitting in the grid, waiting for the chance to tackle either if a ball got loose.

Raven was among those of the few who were waiting for the right moment. This had Marcus intrigued as he thought Raven would be one of the four tackling either of the two nonstop, hoping for a lucky lunge. Instead, she stood in a ready position to strike at the right moment.

Her eyes were following Gaia’s feet and memorizing moves. She moved her feet the slightest bit as if to test moving with her. Slowly but surely, she was inching her way closer to the three.

She got in tackle range and got into position. Again, she waited as she surveyed Gaia’s movements.

And when Gaia pushed the ball wide past Lexa, Raven went for it.

It caught Gaia off guard and she wasn’t able to recover and pull the ball back. Raven made contact with the ball and sent it flying from the grid.

Gaia was struck silent as the ball flew from the grid. Everyone watched in awe too as the other two let Clarke go. Raven broke the silence by throwing her arms in the air and yelling, “FINALLY!”

Gaia immediately rolled her eyes and told her, “Took you long enough.”

Raven grinned big and flicked Gaia on the nose. Gaia pushed her hand away as Raven taunted, “Better late than never.”

If Marcus had a say, he would say that practice had started fun and ended fun.

They didn’t practice the game plans they had covered Tuesday, but instead focused on a fun shooting drill. It gave the forwards and midfielders time to practice offense, it gave the defenders time to defend, and it gave Wells practice in goal.

Much to Bellamy’s demise, the losers of the drill had donkey kicks.

As Marcus cleaned up the pennies and cones from the kids, he relished in the laughter he heard from his daughter as she talked to Lincoln. He relished in the suffering of Miller who was getting grass shoved down his shirt by Raven. He relished in the laughter Murphy gave off as he gave Wells a noogie.

It was a lot different than what he left Tuesday’s practice with. Sure, he left Tuesday’s practice more confident for Saturday’s game, but he didn’t leave with a good feeling in his gut. It didn’t matter if he made them more successful because if they weren’t having fun, why would they bother putting effort into anything?

Now, he felt good and he felt happy. Hell, he even still felt confident about Saturday. He saw little improvements throughout the practice.

He saw Octavia getting confident and trying a 1v1 move. He saw Clarke excel on defense and help communicate with the backline. He saw Bellamy take shots that made sense and not just for the hell of it. He saw Miller actually help out even if he didn’t agree with Clarke sometimes. He saw Raven wait for the right time to tackle instead of diving in.

Is this how Abby felt after her practices?

He wasn’t sure if the progress was the same, as he mixed his coaching in with hers today. When she coached the Lifesavers alone, she only had her tactics. On Tuesday, he only had his tactics. Their practices together before hadn’t truly mixed their coaching together as they tried to out-compete the other with their tactics.

Comparing tonight’s practice showcased glaring results that they needed each other if they wanted to be successful and left no room for argument.

Only if Abby were here to see it.

As if on cue, his eyes drifted to see a red SUV parked by his own car. Abby was waiting to pick up Clarke after practice.

His eyes found Clarke. She sat on the bench, taking her cleats off. She had been smiling and laughing all practice, but now for some reason, she seemed upset.

Confused, he walked over to her. He kneeled in front of her, catching her attention. Furrowing his eyebrows together, he asked, “You okay?”

She looked to him and she nodded as she continued to take off her cleat off. She put it in her bag and didn’t say a single word.

He tried to catch her attention again, asking, “Did you not have fun today?”

Clarke stopped her movements, letting her foot fall back down. She locked gazes with Marcus and told him honestly, “I had a lot of fun today.”

He knew that, he saw her laughing and smiling. He saw her excel in her position. That didn’t answer the question why she looked upset as she did now. He asked, “Then why the long face?”

She frowned a bit more as she looked back to where her mom’s car was parked. She sighed, the little sound of disappointment crushing his heart. She looked back to him and admitted, “I just wish my mom was here for it.”

Again, Marcus felt the guilt tear his heart apart. He wasn’t sure how many times he could sew it back together for it only to be ripped apart again. If it happened twenty more times, he would have only himself to blame.

He smiled sadly, patting Clarke on the knee. He told her truthfully, “So do I."


	18. Walls aren’t put in our lives to stop us, they are there to test how much we really want something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the test,,,,can Marcus truly win without Abby??? I hope you brought a #2 pencil! The test begins NOW!

“A great day for soccer, isn’t it?”

Abby would have agreed if literally anyone else but Cage had asked her the question. And that was including Marcus.

Instead, she decided to be civil and answer as expected, “Every day is a great day for soccer, Cage.”

Ya know, it interested Abby why Cage always waited for her in the parking lot. He never waited for her by the field or anywhere but where her car was parked. Was it because he knew if her car was parked, she couldn’t hit him with it?

Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as she thought.

He was wearing plaid suit today, a navy blue background color with white lines. It wasn’t a bad looking suit, the only problem was that _he_ was the one wearing it. Now if Marcus had been wearing it…

“But I feel today is going to extraordinary,” he replied.

Her eyes lifted to meet his as she shut her trunk. Today, unlike usual, she had grabbed a lawn chair to sit on the sidelines. She felt lighter, no weight of her equipment bag on her shoulder.

“Because the delinquents are going to win?” She asked as she started to make her way to the sideline and not the bench. Even though she spent many times on the sideline next to Cece with the Lifesavers after her red cards, it felt odd. This time, it just didn’t feel right to not be standing beside Marcus on the bench. It was where she belonged.

Cage snorted in response to her question. He said, “More so that today will declare it official that you’ll be resigning your position as a coach in this league.”

Before she could stop herself, she retorted, “Because you’ve somehow managed to fuck with the league for your own personal gain again?”

“Again?” He sounded offended. Abby took note that he didn’t reject the accusation either.

It wasn’t like Abby didn’t mean it either. The conversation with Indra about her team folding popped into her mind, how he somehow needed to switch his practices and only left her available times she couldn’t do. The moment Indra told her that Cage probably had a say in merging her and Marcus’ team rang in her memory.

And the newest revelation rang the loudest- talking with Clarke at dinner about Marcus’ decision regarding last week’s game against the Reapers.

Both agreed the Marcus they knew would never go as far as he did unless he was pushed into making such a decision. Abby knew she could push Marcus’ buttons and she was certain a few were jammed, but she also knew she could never annoy him to the point where he would pull a stunt like he did.

It would make sense if Cage interfered at a moment of vulnerability for them both, which he indeed did do. He attacked Abby’s insecurities during a time where she felt his words were true. Somehow, behind her back, he must’ve gotten to Marcus too.

What Abby had meant with the statement was that it wouldn’t have been the first time she had speculation he was playing foul game. They had no concrete evidence to place a rightful conviction against him but there were only so many coincidences one could keep getting. Cage not denying the accusation either sent up a red flag.

Did he do something to mess up the Delinquents’ chances of winning today? Would he sink to the low of cheating just to secure his position in the league? As the “coincidences” flashed in her memory again, Abby decided that he _could_.

“Don’t get your boxers in a twist, Cage,” she replied, “I was kidding.”

He seemed a bit uncomfortable and fixed his suit jacket. “Well, I’m not,” he said.

She raised an eyebrow at him, asking, “About today being extraordinary or that your boxers are in a twist?”

His face flushed as if he got a sunburn. He pushed past her, done with her tactics and spat to her over his shoulder, “You’ll see.”

Abby’s face contoured into disgust. She yelled out after him, “Not sure I wanna see what’s in your trousers. Nothing but disappointment, I’m sure.”

Forget resembling a sunburn, Cage’s face now flushed to the point that he resembled the tomatoes in Abby’s spaghetti the other night. He said nothing as he stormed over to his own field. For once, he wouldn’t be able to sit and observe her game. Both semifinals would be played at the same time.

“Saved you a seat,” Abby heard Cece call out, waving her over from her own lawn chair.

Abby made her way to her as Indra was sitting down in her own lawn chair. Abby pulled hers out of its own bag and began opening it up. Once it was all set up, she plopped down into with a huge sigh.

Indra looked over to her, asking, “How ya feeling?”

Abby looked back to her, shrugging. She pulled a flask from her snack bag and held it up for Indra to see. “This,” she replied as she unscrewed the cap and took a long drink from it.

Cece laughed and clinked her own against Abby’s. She titled hers towards where Ice Nation was warming up, drawing their attention to it. “That girl over there? She makes me want to drain this thing empty already,” Cece commented.

Abby watched with curiosity. She had never seen the girl before, whether it be over the past years or during this season’s game. She basically towered over the players on Ice Nation and she had a killer shot. It was like she was a bow and the ball her arrow. It went where she wanted and how she wanted. She could bend it, put a spin on it, loft it, or drive it home into the back of the net.

Abby was sure even Lexa didn’t have that type of ball control while shooting.

It made her worried. Cage began to creep back into her mind but she shoved him aside. They could handle her, they had Lincoln on the backline and if Marcus had done practice right this week, they should be prepared.

She reached down into her snack bag and pulled out a pint of her favorite liquor. She said, “I’ve got refills.”

Cece laughed and clapped as she took a sip from her flask. As she put the pint away, Abby remembered how Clarke had mentioned Thursday’s practice was a complete 180 from what Tuesday had been. She had been told that they played sharks and minnows, did a fun shooting drill, and finished with knock out. Abby was even more shocked when she heard Clarke tell her that there was no running that practice.

Thinking of that, she looked over to the bench where Marcus was kneeling in front of the kids as they swarmed the bench around him. He was using his fancy new marker board and instructing them. He ended the conversation with a clap and placed his hand in the center, the kids following suit.

He counted down from three and they all threw their hands in the air while cheering, “DELINQUENTS!”

As the starting lineup ran on the field, Abby noticed right away that Clarke was going towards Wells and not towards the half line like usual. She could start to feel the pit in her stomach form but she did her best to ignore it. She talked to Clarke about this and needed to accept it.

It just wasn’t easy to do.

As if he knew, Marcus looked back over his shoulder to where Abby sat. They made eye contact and the game was soon forgotten. They only saw each other.

It was the first time they had really acknowledged the other after the fallout from last Saturday. There wasn’t tension in the sense where Abby wanted to run Marcus over, which is what Abby had expected to feel when she would see him again. Of course she was still upset, but again, the talk with Clarke on Tuesday opened her mind about the subject.

Marcus was mildly surprised that Abby hadn’t stormed over and tackled him the ground. Not that he would object, but he was surprised to not feel the ominosity he expected from her. Instead, the tension felt normal between them. It held their annoyance with each other but he thought there might be some compromise drifting through it.

Not willingly to risk the peace as of right now, he just offered her a small smile. And when she flipped him off in response, he confirmed that compromise was in effect.

+

Was a fake mustache a good enough disguise for Alie to not recognize Abby on the bench? Maybe if Abby grabbed a hoodie and kept the hoodie on the whole game and suffered through the heat.

 _Anything_ , Abby needed anything or any reason to get on that bench.

It was the second half of the game and it was currently tied 2-2. There had to be less than ten minutes left.

Ice Nation was definitely dominating the second half, applying pressure nonstop.

They had their top three kids up top, including that new girl (whose name was Echo Abby learned), and they kept shoving the ball down the Delinquent’s throat. There wasn’t much of a chance for them to attack as Marcus had pulled all the best players back to support the defense.

Lincoln was playing right back, Clarke was center back, and Murphy was left back. Gaia was in her center midfield position but Marcus had instructed her to play more of a defending role in the second half. The wingers consisted of Lexa and Raven. Raven wasn’t normally a midfielder but Marcus explained to her to just drop back as a fourth defender. Bellamy stood up alone at forward, trying his best to create something out of anything his teammates cleared up to him.

None of that mattered as Ice Nation kept the ball in the Delinquent’s half. That Echo girl was _really_ causing trouble for the kids. Even though Lincoln had handled her well in the first half, when Clarke was subbed out for a break, he didn’t have his usual support and Echo would break free and that’s how they scored their two goals.

Right now, the Delinquents were struggling to keep the ball from crossing the goal line. The kids were a nervous wreck on the field, the emotions clear as day on their face. Marcus had run his hand through his hair so many times that if he had put hair gel in it, he would’ve quiffed his hair up.

Abby wanted to go up to the bench and offer help. She could tell Marcus needed it. He would flicker his eyes back towards the parents every so often, his eyes landing specifically on her. He needed her opinion on positions for players he didn’t know completely yet. He was still second guessing having Murphy on the backline when he could be careless.

But he knew he had made the right choice when pairing Lincoln and Clarke up together on defense. They were a duo that was a solid brick wall of defense that was barely ever broken. If one got beat, the other was there to support the other. They kept the communication up between the backline and the midfield. They were true leaders.

And it made Abby happy; it made her realize Clarke was right.

The Delinquents needed Clarke on defense. If she were to be where Bellamy was, Clarke would be useless. With no support in the formation they were currently playing, the only chance for a goal would be through a quick counter attack. And with how the possession of the game was looking, that was highly unlikely.

It had already been proven deadly if Marcus separated Clarke and Lincoln. Echo had scored her two goals when Clarke wasn’t on defense. When Clarke was on the field at defense, she had shut Echo down every time with Lincoln’s help. If Clarke wasn’t playing defense right now, it wouldn’t be the best decision for the team.

And Abby finally saw it.

And that was another reason she wanted to be on the bench. Even though Marcus didn’t deserve her time of day right now, she wanted to tell him she _finally_ saw what he was talking about. Maybe he did know a thing or two about winning a game.

But she could see he was struggling alone. He had never coached a game like this. He had always been on the losing end, it was never a 50/50 chance. This game was a 50/50 chance; he could win it if he played his cards right.

He knew he could win it but there was one fact that was shaking his confidence: the fact that he knew the Delinquents needed both him and Abby to be successful. And right now, they only had him.

Sure, Abby may be present, but she wasn’t present at the same time. She couldn’t come over and add her two cents. She had to be stuck on the sideline and watch.

And that was all his fault.

If they lost the game because of the fact that the Delinquents needed both of them, he could only blame himself.

And that became glaring as Marcus saw a nightmare flash before his eyes.

There was a 50/50 ball played in space that Echo was running into. Lincoln was again marking her and ran to the ball, hoping to beat her to it.

Throughout the game, both had been playing rough with each other. They shared two fouls each that they committed against the other. None of it was nasty, but you could see the tension building up between the two.

For this tackle, it finally collided and exploded.

Lincoln had caught Echo off guard as he raced towards the ball. There was no question that he was going to get there first and vanquish any threat the ball could have. To Echo, that was unacceptable.

She charged forward, but not with the intention of winning the ball. She threw her body forward as Lincoln got to the ball and stuck her leg out.

She completely missed the ball and her cleats came down _hard_ on Lincoln’s ankle. Immediately, Lincoln collapsed to the ground in pain. No scream escaped his lips though as he hit the floor. The only noise was the shrill of Alie’s whistle and the sound of Indra’s lawn chair flying backwards as she sprung up from it.

“That was _brutal_ ,” Roan said from the sideline as everyone watched in shock.

“It’s bullshit, that’s what it is!” Cece added in as she looked over to Indra.

Abby did as well. Indra’s face was unreadable as she watched Marcus rush over to where Lincoln cradled his ankle. Alie was busy presenting Echo with a yellow card. Echo didn’t seem to care as she walked away and back to her bench.

The sideline was quiet as Alie made her way over to the two. Marcus was talking with Alie and he seemed to be heated. He threw his hands up in the air and pointed towards where Echo was getting water on the bench.

Abby recognized the scene. It was exactly what she did before she would throw explicits at Alie and earn a red card. If Marcus got a red card, the kids would have no coach, and then they would have to forfeit the match.

Abby might not be able to help the kids on the bench, but she’d be damned if they had to lose their jobs because of a forfeit she could prevent.

She got out of her chair and ran on the field to the three. Immediately, Alie saw her and began to protest her coming on but Abby told her, “I’m not here to bitch you out, Alie. He needs medical attention. That’s my only reason being here.”

Alie fell silent as did Marcus. They both watched her for a moment before Alie stepped aside, letting her through to Lincoln.

She crouched down to Lincoln and he looked over to her. She could see the tears in his eyes and the pain on his face. Abby had to give him credit for not screaming out in pain. Abby swore like a sailor (more than normal) when she stubbed her toe on a chair.

“Let’s check out that ankle, okay?” Abby spoke as she slowly moved to remove his hands from it. Abby could already see the swelling, her heart dropping the slightest. “We’re going to test a few spots to the touch and some movement. Let me know where you feel pain, okay?”

Lincoln just nodded as he braced himself. Abby could feel the eyes of Marcus and Alie on her. She focused on Lincoln and softly pressed the inside of his ankle. She looked up to him and he shook his head.

She slowly made her way to the top of his ankle. As she made her way outside, towards where the majority of the swelling was, she could feel himself tensing beneath her hands. She made her touch lighter as she pressed over the outside. He jerked under her hand and he said, “There.”

“Okay, so we know it’s on the outside,” she told him. “Can you move your ankle on your own?”

He bit his lip and he tried his best. Abby felt the slightest movement of his foot going in a slow circle. He nodded in confirmation. She gave him a small smile and told him, “That’s a good thing. We know as of right now, nothing is probably broken.”

He nodded, Abby sensing the relief in his body as he let some of the tension release from his ankle. She began maneuvering his ankle slowly, feeling for jerks of pain, his confirmation of it, and resistance. After a few minutes, she set his foot down. She told him, “Definitely a sprain, but not as bad as it looks.”

Lincoln nodded as Abby stepped back. She turned to face the two, seeing Marcus arguing with Alie again. He said, his voice carrying his anger in his words, “That’s bullshit Alie and you know it. You _know_ she wasn’t going for the ball. It was reckless, endangered our player’s safety, and it was cleats up. That’s the textbook definition of a red card.”

Alie shook her head and told him, “You’re lucky I haven’t given him a yellow card for some of his tackles today.”

“And what about hers as well?!” His voice was rising and he had a fire in his eyes Abby all too well recognized. “Shouldn’t she already have a yellow card too? That adds up to another red if you had done your job right.”

Alie didn’t back down and told him calmly, “The decision has been made. Next time she tackles someone hard, she’ll be gone.”

“You mean the next time she breaks another one of my player’s ankles?” Venom and accusation dripped in the words. He spat at her, “You’re going to be the reason these kids are hurt.”

Before Alie could reply, Abby stepped in between them. She looked back to Alie, whispering, “I know this is against the rules but let me talk to him. Let me do it for the kids before you have to throw him out because he can’t control his mouth.”

Alie’s face read how hypocritical it was for Abby to say such a thing but she just nodded and turned to write in her notepad as Sinclair and Jackson came over to help Lincoln off the field. Abby grabbed Marcus by his leather jacket’s collar and dragged him off the field.

He was still focused on Alie still as he seethed, “Can you believe that shit? She’ll give you a red card for punching a parent on your own sideline but not when an opposing player nearly shatters someone’s ankle.”

“ _Marcus,_ ” Abby didn’t bother with trying to be civil right off the bat. He was at point where he needed to be slapped back into reality. “Stop it.”

His eyes shot to her, confusion spreading across his features. “Stop?” His voice was genuinely confused. “Aren’t you upset with that call? That’s unacceptable!”

“Of course I am,” she whisper-shouted, “but that doesn’t mean you have act like this in reaction to it!”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “That’s quite the hypocritical thing to say, isn’t it?”

Her eyes narrowed back at him. “It is, and I’ll gladly own up to every well-earned red card I’ve gotten for bitching her out. Hell, I would do the same exact thing you’re doing right now because it’s _who I am._ ”

She pointed at him, finger jabbing him in the chest for emphasis. “But that’s not who _you are_. You’re the coach that stays calm and moves past those shit calls. You try to take the civil road.”

Her finger came to point back at her as she continued, “I’m the coach who lashes out and can take a red card for the team. I’ll point out the bullshit and take the consequences. You can’t do that, Marcus.”

“Are you saying I can’t because you don’t think I’m capable of standing up to a referee?” He asked.

“Absolutely not,” Abby shot back, fixing eye contact with him, “I think you just proved you can, but I’m serious when I say you can’t be that coach, Marcus. The kids can’t lose you, not over an outburst at a referee.”

He fell silent at her words. They hit home. The kids had already lost Abby due to an outburst on her part. He saw the pain in her eyes and he could see the fear in them, fear that he would let the kids down when he was all they had right now.

His anger immediately sizzled out, guilt slowly making its way to him. He was, after all, the reason the kids had lost Abby for this game in the first place. If Abby hadn’t interfered when she had, he might have caused them to lose him and in end, ultimately the game.

It also sent shock through him. It was the perfect moment for Marcus to prove in fact that couldn’t win without her, because if he was carded and kicked out, the kids would have to forfeit. She could’ve used that opportunity to prove him wrong and get back at him.

But she didn’t. She had put the kids first.

Her own anger had calmed down as she regarded him with a sad smile. She told him, “You can’t go getting yourself kicked out because you’re used to me doing to the yelling and feel the need to compensate. I know you miss me on the bench and need me to do the crazy part of coaching, but those kids need you.”

Marcus heard himself say in his mind that Abby wasn’t wrong. But there was an important factor she was leaving out. He cracked a small smile back, saying, “Those kids need you too.”

She snorted as she looked to bench, her eyes landing her daughter. “Doubt it,” she replied.

Thursday’s practice flashed in his mind, the realization that the kids needed both her and him to succeed. When only one of their tactics was present, the kids didn’t succeed. When both did, they prospered.

“They do,” he told her, drawing her attention back to him. Before he could stop himself, he admitted, “I need you.”

Silence hung between them as the words registered in both of their minds. Abby looked up to meet his eyes, sincerity shining in them. The words were honest, Marcus knew that and Abby could feel it.

“Well,” Abby broke the silence, “then that’s more of a reason to not act like a dick and get kicked out. Because when you win this game, I can’t be coaching the finals alone.”

He smiled and ruffled his hair with his hand. He told her, “The kids need both of us.”

She smiled back, agreeing in her mind. She looked to the bench and then to Alie. She was making her way over to them, indicating that the game would resume soon.

Turning her attention back to Marcus, he looked conflicted. He began to say, “Listen, Abby, about Saturday…”

“Don’t,” Abby held up a hand to silence him. This wasn’t the time or place. They had to focus on the game first. They could deal with that after they won the game. She told him exactly that, “We can deal with that after you win this game.”

He frowned a bit and told her, “That’s it though. I-We need you to win.”

He was pleading a bit and it broke her heart. She heard the guilt in his voice. He know he caused it and she could tell it bothered him. Well, good, she thought. He should feel guilty.

She looked away from him, unable to meet his gaze. She told him, “You should’ve thought about that before you decided to do what you did on Saturday.”

“Abby, I-”

She shook her head, not listening to what he was saying. She made herself look up and make eye contact with him. The pain in her eyes was another sword into his already jagged heart. “You said you could win alone,” she said. “You did what you did so you could prove it. This is your chance, Marcus. Don’t fuck it up.”

He opened his mouth but no words came out. He knew she was right. He had done every word she told him and he did so for that exact reason. He had to own up to it.

He just nodded and both walked their separate ways. Marcus went to the bench, subbing Miller in for where Lincoln was. Abby returned to her lawn chair as Indra was with Lincoln on the bench.

Alie blew the whistle, signaling the game to resume. There wasn’t much time left now.

Clarke had taken the kick, sending the ball up the line to Lexa. She easily trapped the ball and penetrated forward. She made clean pass to Gaia in the middle who quickly passed it to Bellamy.

Lexa made her usual run up the line but Ice Nation had learned it by then. She was marked as Bellamy tried to get the ball to her. He beat one player to open more space for him, but he didn’t have another outlet on the outside like he was used to since Raven was told to stay back.

Soon, he was swarmed by two Ice Nation defenders and they eventually stole the ball from him. They immediately pushed the ball up the line. Marcus was yelling at the team to drop, but they couldn’t recover quickly enough.

Miller had no other choice than to step up and apply pressure, leaving Clarke vulnerable in a 2v1 that included Echo.

Miller didn’t stand a chance as the Ice Nation player easily made his way past him. Miller turned to watch as the kid powered up the field, launching the ball to one of the two players with Clarke.

The forward easily trapped the ball and turned up to face Clarke. Clarke did as best as she could to split the difference between the two players. They rested right atop the goalie box, not giving much room for Clarke to give them space. They were in the danger zone.

The kid charged forward towards Clarke, making her make a decision: either to step up and take the kid on 1v1 or drop off so they couldn’t play Echo. With their positioning on the field, she would rather force a pass then give away a free shot.

She ran forward, cutting off the passing line to Echo. Clarke tackled the player instantly, the ball getting jumbled up between them.

Everyone was frozen in their place as they watched the struggle between the two players. The other semifinals had ended by now given with the time delay they had with the injury, meaning Cage was watching from under his tree.

This would be the time that Lincoln would have dropped in to support Clarke in case the ball slipped by her. However, Miller stood in the same spot he had been beaten in, forgetting to recover.

Finally, after a long few seconds, the ball came loose and sped towards empty space behind Clarke, where Miller should have been for support.

It was slow motion as Clarke turned to try and recover as Echo burst forward to retrieve the ball. Wells stayed in his goal rather than stepping out, thinking Clarke may get there first.

But it became clear that Clarke wasn’t going to recover in time.

Wells started to second guess himself and started to run out towards the ball, hoping he may be able to scoop it up before Echo reached it.

Abby watched on the edge of her seat, heart beating and silently praying for a Delinquent to reach it first. Marcus was holding the marker board in his hands as he held his head between his hands.

Clarke left her feet, reaching her foot out in a desperate last attempt to flick the ball away from Echo’s reach.

It failed.

Echo reached the ball first and looked up to see Wells coming out of goal. Like there was no pressure at all, she easily bent the ball around him, the ball sailing into the back of the Delinquents’ goal. As soon as the ball hit the floor, Alie blew her whistle to signal a goal.

And right after that, she blew the whistle to signal the end of the game.

For once, Abby was left wordless after a game. The only noise that could be heard were the screams of celebrating from the Ice Nation parents and kids. Everyone that was associated with the Delinquents was silent.

Disappointment was loud in the silence.

Abby slid back in her chair, reality seeping in as she looked around the field. Clarke slowly got up from her slide tackle position as Wells got up from his attempt of a diving save. Roan and Cece said nothing for once as they looked at other in defeat. Marcus had dropped his marker board and flopped down onto the bench, staring at his hands.

Abby’s eyes found the man who she had made a bet with across the field. He was wearing his signature smile as he found her gaze. He pushed off his tree, fixed his jacket, and walked off, disappearing into the crowd.

Her mind was screaming, her heart was screaming, but for once, she stayed silent.

It was a tough situation to process.

Her eyes wandered back to Marcus who turned to look at her. Their expressions mirrored each other’s: disappointment mixed with realization of the situation. It was a reality neither wanted to live through and its consequences.

The reality was that Delinquents had lost and the consequences were that Abby and Marcus were no longer coaches.

That realization haunted Abby. She knew it was more likely outcome with their situation but she had hoped they would pull off an upset. She had hoped they could pull it off together. And maybe they could have done it had they actually done it together.

Abby was in a blank state as she packed up her gear from the sideline. Slowly but surely, parents left the field with their kids, leaving Abby and Marcus sitting on the bench as their kids finished getting their gear off.

Neither said a word to the other. There was nothing to say; nothing they would say could change the outcome. So, they just stared out at the field for one last time.

Clarke finished before Bellamy and Octavia, walking up to her mom. Abby reluctantly stood from the bench and patted Clarke’s head, ruffling her hair with a sad smile.

As they began their way back to the car, Abby thought she caught wind of Marcus whispering to her, “Forgive me."


	19. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it gives the future a chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You never know when that lucky break is gonna come

Abby felt like she was sitting outside the principal’s office like she had been back when she was in middle school.

The only difference between now and then was that she wasn’t in trouble for letting a snake free in Ms. Diana Sydney’s class.

Can you blame her? The woman tried giving a surprise, comprehensive exam that would’ve been worth 15% of their grade.

 _Thanks_ to Abby, that exam never happened. Mainly because Ms. Diana Sydney spilt her coffee over all the exam booklets and her computer when the snake wrapped around her leg.

It was definitely worth the three day suspension.

But what she felt sitting in that chair then was nothing compared to what she felt now. She was mainly proud and defiant then (and somewhat afraid of what Principal Cadogon would do).

Now, she was uncertain, empty even.

She held the resignation papers in her hand. Late last night, she had sat at her kitchen table, filling them out. It took her a few hours because she had to stop every few lines.

She was still in disbelief.

Even though they had lost two days ago, the reality of the fallout was still fresh in her mind. The heartache was still fresh.

The only thing keeping her head high at the moment was the fact she hadn’t seen Cage after the game. The last time she saw him was when he left the field.

Now, she was waiting outside Pike’s office. She had set up a meeting to hand in her resignation papers. Originally, it was supposed to happen a half hour ago, but Pike had texted her saying that an emergency situation had been brought to his attention.

And with perfect timing, she saw her old business partner walking up.

Marcus didn’t carry the usual confidence and power he held in his stance. He looked as detached as he felt. His eyes were trained to the floor until he reached the waiting area. Then, they fell on Abby.

The two looked at each other, no words being exchanged. They didn’t need to be. Both knew what the other was going through, both knew how the other felt. Both knew there was nothing they could do.

He broke the eye contact and plopped down into a seat one away from Abby. He wasn’t sure how the tension between them concerning the game against the Reapers was. He knew it wasn’t bad during the semifinals, but now it was past that.

His past actions then had influenced the outcome of the semifinals. He _was_ the reason they lost the game and their positions as coaches. The resignation papers in his hand felt like dead weight, a burden. He could only assume she felt the same the way as he watched the way she was clutching her own.

He would understand if she hated him. He would understand if she didn’t accept his apology as he broke the silence by saying, “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes drifted over to where he sat. She didn’t respond right away. She knew this conversation was coming, but she still wasn’t prepared for it. If she was honest with herself, she didn’t think she ever would have been.

That little honesty confused her.  She had been ready to face anything Marcus threw at her, even what he pulled at the Reapers’ game. She had known what to do, how to react. Right now, she wasn’t sure what to say in response. Why?

Maybe it was the way his voice sounded genuine. Maybe it was the fact that she didn’t like being this upset at him. Maybe it was that she couldn’t stand not talking to him, even if it was just their constant bickering and teasing.

Maybe it was the realization that the “tension” they had played with may hold more than a passionate make out in his hallway or against the bathroom wall.

In that tension there was an understanding, there were years of history between them, and now it was all fucked up by his actions that one game. It made her uncomfortable, and for some reason she knew it made him uncomfortable too.

So, deciding to take the comfortable way and how she knew to handle him usually, she acted like Abby and asked in mocking tone, “For?”

He immediately recognized it and he smiled as he looked down to his hands. He appreciated her attempt at small humor, at her attempt to make things normal between them. Unlike old times, however, it was forced. He feared it would never return to like old time unless he was serious this one time and sincerely apologized.

Looking back to her, he told her with a shrug, “Everything.”

She raised an eyebrow back at him, encouraging him to go on.

“From the arguments that lead to what I did at the Reapers game, to what I did at the Reapers game, to losing the semifinals, and to ultimately losing our positions as the kids’ coaches,” he explained. He ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head in defeat. “It’s all my fault.”

Abby didn’t reply right away. She examined Marcus for a short while.

He was fidgeting with his fingers, once in a great a while running them through his hair or scratching at his beard. His right foot was tapping silently against the ground, knee bumping as well. He couldn’t make eye contact with her either.

She sat back in her chair, looking to the ceiling. “You fucked up bad,” she finally replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his shoulders sag in defeat. It broke her heart the slightest bit.

She continued on, telling him, “Now, what you did against the Reapers, that little stunt…that was a bullshit move.” She saw his shoulders dip a bit more at the jab. She kept her eyes on the ceiling as she finished up, “I shouldn’t forgive you. I should run you over with my car like I planned on doing when I left the hospital that day.”

It was silent as the words hung between them. Marcus watched his hands, not sure how to carry on the conversation. Abby kept her eyes on the ceiling, heart beating a little faster as her next words formed in her mind.

She told him, “Other than that, we’re both at fault.”

This makes him curious as he looks over to her. Her eyes are still trained on the ceiling and he gets enraptured in the way she’s lost in a memory.

In her mind, she’s back on the field the day of the incident. She’s just been stopped by Indra, blocking her way to the man she wanted nothing more than to tear apart. Or, hit with her car.

Then, she had admitted to Indra that they both were guilty of avoiding their mistakes and pointing the other’s out. They were even guiltier when they found an easy outlet to mask those mistakes.

“How?” Is all he asks.

She chuckled a bit as she looked away from the ceiling. She finally looked over to him and simply told him, “We both know what part of coaching we suck at, but we ignored them from the sake of our ego and pride between each other. There’s no doubt that was part of the reason that drove you to your decision that day.”

Marcus found himself agreeing, thinking of the differences he had found between that Tuesday and Thursday.

“That’s the true reason behind why we’re failing,” Abby explained. She just shrugged as she continued, “We couldn’t work together to fix those issues because we still wanted that up on the other. It was worse when those Grounder kids joined because then we didn’t need to fix those issues. Those issues didn’t matter since we were winning.”

Marcus nodded as he listened. That was glaring when they had their ass kicked by Alpha Station. It was also clear after Lincoln had gotten hurt. If Abby had let Clarke on defense earlier, she may have been able to work with Miller and the rest of the backline to prevent the winning goal. If Marcus had made earlier practices more enjoyable, maybe Miller would’ve run back like he did in that Thursday practice.

She bit her lip, her next words on the tip of her tongue. It was different admitting her faults to Clarke than it was admitting them to Marcus.

She forced the words out before she could chicken out. “And when those issues became glaring after the Alpha Station game and the incident with the Reapers game, I only wanted to blame you and your faults. It took Clarke to show me that I was at fault as well.”

Marcus regarded her with curiosity. Had Clarke opened her eyes as Bellamy did with him?

“It was after the Tuesday practice,” Abby began, “and Clarke looked depressed. Hell, all the kids did when I picked her up. I, of course, blamed you because you don’t know the definition of fun. Clarke had agreed but brought up a memory that resembled our situation.”

Marcus’ mind was flashing back to his own dinner with Bellamy that same night. Had both been slapped back into reality by their own kids on the same night?

“What she told me…it opened my eyes to say the least,” Abby told him, frowning the slightest bit. She regarded Marcus with sad eyes. “You know how hard it is to hear from your daughter that you’ve been wrong about her all season?”

If only Abby knew. Marcus thought of Octavia and how Bellamy accused him of never asking the same thing he demanded of Abby. “You have no idea,” Marcus more mumbled to himself.

Abby still caught wind of it and reached over, her hand coming to hold his lightly. He watched their hands for a second before finding her eyes. There was an understanding in them and she offered him a reassuring smile. He gave her one back.

“You know what she told me that night? Besides telling me I was wrong,” Marcus chuckled at her bitter tone as she continued to smile at him, “she told me that I was afraid of change once and I was in the same position. I kept coaching as if I was still coaching for the Lifesavers. I wasn’t coaching for the Delinquents.”

The realization Marcus had made that Thursday practice rushed into his mind. It was essentially the same thing. He recognized that the Delinquents needed them both, not the coach of the Lifesavers or the Assassins. They needed the coaches of the Delinquents.

“And I realized she was right,” Abby said. “The Delinquents needed her on defense, not at forward. Even though they lost this past Saturday, the game would’ve been a lot worse if Clarke wasn’t on defense.”

Marcus took it all in. Abby had finally admitted what he had accused her of for the past month. She even admitted that he was right about Clarke. But Marcus didn’t feel the leap of joy he figured he would feel. Instead, he felt guilty on his own part.

He squeezed her hand as a gesture of comfort and it drew her eyes back to him. He winked and whispered, hoping to make her smile, “Bout damn time.”

It earned him a laugh and he smiled in response. He had rarely heard her laughter when they would argue relentlessly. Every time he heard, he only wished she would laugh more. Secretly, he wished he would be the reason behind it.

He began stroking her thumb with his, his eyes watching his own movements. “I too had realized what a dick I had been to the kids after a chat with Bellamy that same Tuesday night.”

Abby leaned over slightly and whispered to him, “Bout damn time.”

He laughed, genuinely and full-heartedly. He shook his head as Abby watched him with her own smile. She had stated it before, but her favorite thing about Marcus (besides the hair obviously) was his laugh when it wasn’t directed at her.

“About six years ago, I made a promise to my kids that I wouldn’t ever do what someone that used to be close to us did,” he told her. She watched him with curiosity. He sighed, saying, “With what I did at the Reapers game, I broke that promise.”

He could feel Abby squeeze his hand back and he smiled as he looked back to them. “I didn’t even realize it myself, Bellamy had to point it out,” he admitted, voice cracking with disappointment. It wasn’t the only thing cracking as he felt pain in his chest.

“What that person had done to me, I did it to you,” he told her. The memory brought him pain, both of his ex-wife and the game. “I was once on the end you were on that day. I know how it felt to be betrayed like that, behind your back and for selfish reasons, but I still went out and did it.”

His hand was beginning to shake and Abby’s clasped his tighter. His foot tapping became erratic. “I was so blinded by my need to prove you wrong, to show that I knew how to win and knew what Octavia wanted, that I disregarded your feelings when I did what I did. And I feel like _shit_ for doing it.”

His voice was cracking, a tear crawling down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, shaking his head, not able to make eye contact with her. “I became the person I resented the most and couldn’t see it, but my twelve year old kids could. I’m so sorry, Abby.”

Hearing his voice drowned with tears and pain made Abby’s heart break. What he had done _was_ shitty and she was glad he saw that. That didn’t mean it still didn’t make her feel bad for him, she did. She squeezed his hand for comfort, earning a shaky sigh from him.

“When Bellamy told me that,” Marcus continued, “it was like a wakeup call. I felt guilty immediately. I tried to blame my ignorance on knowing what Octavia wanted for my actions. Even though Bellamy had pointed out what I did, I still didn’t want to admit my fault.”

He watched her fingers as he took a moment to collect himself. He admitted to her, “He asked me if I truly knew what made Octavia happy. And I do, I really do. I just didn’t want to admit it was something you had brought to the team.”

Abby was stunned for a second. She knew exactly what he was talking about. He was talking about sharks and minnows.

He gripped her hand tighter to his, lacing the fingers the slightest. He said, “I didn’t want to admit it because I thought I was superior to you in coaching. I didn’t want a game from a ‘lesser coach’ making Octavia happy when I had failed for five years.”

Abby’s eyes had went to their hands. He was still stroking her hand; he hadn’t stopped the moment since she grabbed his hand. She found it comforting as her heart was racing from his words.

“I thought your game, sharks and minnows, was a waste of time,” he explained, “but then I saw the difference in the practices immediately when I ran it on Thursday. It was like a blow to the stomach. It was glaring.”

He finally looked over to her and offered her a weak smile. “It made me realize that fun wasn’t so bad. It made me realize that if we truly wanted to succeed, then the kids would need both of their coaches. They needed the coaches of the Delinquents.”

It was silent between them as Marcus kept moving his thumb across her palm. Even though it was meant as a comforting gesture for her, he found himself relaxing as he repeated the pattern over and over again.

“You may think you suck at coaching,” he abruptly said, thinking of the many times she rarely told him so. He had agreed then, but not anymore. “But you don’t. You excel in the one part of coaching I lack in. I’ll be damned if I don’t think that makes you a great coach.”

His words struck home. It took him five years for him to recognize her as a coach after they won their first game with the Delinquents. But somehow, this felt more real. This felt as if he was _actually_ recognizing her as a coach.

It made her happy.

She joked to him, “Seems like we balance each other out pretty well, huh?”

He smirked over to her, that one special smirk. It didn’t piss her off like it did the past few weeks. He said, “I’m lucky to have someone like you.”

Abby’s mind raced back to the beginning of the season, when the two had just received the news of the merging of their two teams. They were at a restaurant where Abby had learned Marcus hated pickles. She had also teased him by telling their waitress that he’d be lucky to have someone like her.

She smirked back and admitted, “What was supposed to be the worst thing to happen to us turned out to be the best thing.”

Silence fell between the two as the words settled. Neither disagreed, both knew she was right. The start was rough and even rougher in the middle, but now they were coming to the end of their journey and it was smoothing out.

They admitted their faults and both knew how to handle them. Too bad there was no chance for them to prove it.

Pike’s office door slammed open, ripping away the little world the two were absorbed in. Their hands detached and they looked to see a pissed off Nia.

She paid no attention to them as she made her way down the hall and out of the building. The two looked to the other, confusion written across both faces.

Right after, Pike exited his office and his eyes drifted to the two. He smiled big and clapped his hands, telling them, “Just the two I wanted to see!”

Abby looked to the resignation paper in her hands and then back to Pike. “Well,” she said, “we _did_ have an appointment.”

His eyes followed her same movement and offered her grin. He told them, “You’re not going to need those anymore.”

Abby and Marcus looked to each other, even more confusion appearing on their faces. Marcus looked to Pike, saying, “I’m not complaining, but _what?_ ”

He lifted his hand to show the way into his office. He told them, “Come in, both of you. We have a lot to talk about.”

Abby wasn’t sure if that was good news but his words about not needing her resignation papers sent off alarms in her head. Was that in connection to Nia storming out? What was going on?

The two entered his office and got a sense of Déjà vu as Pike closed the door behind them. They sat in the same chairs they had at the beginning of the season as Pike made his way to his own chair behind his desk.

He held his hands out and the two offered their resignation papers. He glanced over them and flickered his eyes to them. They were confused and it showed. He smiled and proceeded to rip the papers up.

Abby watched astonished, as did Marcus. The two looked to each other again, not sure what to say.

When Pike finished, he wiped his hands, smiling at the masterpiece of a mess he had made on his desk. He folded his hands together and rested them on his desk as he regarded the two with a warm smile.

It was silent until Abby asked, “What the _fuck_?”

Pike laughed and responded, “I said the same thing about an hour ago.”

That didn’t answer Abby’s outburst, it just made her more confused. She replied, “I have no fucking idea what is going on. Why is Nia storming out like a child? Why did you rip up our resignation papers?”

Pike shook his head and said, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard yet.”

That caught their attention. They glanced at each for a small moment before Marcus looked back to Pike, asking, “Heard what?”

“I got a call this morning from Alie,” he started off, “and she told me some interesting news about a player on Ice Nation. Do you remember a girl named Echo?”

Hell, anyone could. She was the reason Abby spent all night working on those damn papers. They both nodded, curious as to where Pike was going with it.

“Well,” he shrugged, “Alie took a closer look at her player card and registration forms. She had told me she had remembered reffing the girl earlier in the season for a premiere team, but wasn’t sure. She got back to me this morning with the news.”

Abby’s heart was pounding. If what Alie had thought was true, and Echo was a premiere player, then that would make her ineligible to play in Arkadia’s rec league. Resulting from that, Ice Nation would’ve broken the rules by using an illegal player.

Pike confirmed her suspicions by adding on, “Echo is indeed a premiere player. I called up Nia for a meeting and she swears ignorance on knowing of Echo’s eligibility. Her sincere surprise after I told her made me believe her.”

Marcus and Abby knew Nia was competitive and would do anything to win, but she would never cheat. She believed in training hard for what you wanted and you would win what you earned.

“She then proceeded to tell me that Cage had recommended Echo to join her roster as a guest player,” Pike continued on, “since she would be light on the bench that weekend.”

Marcus’ memory immediately went back to the game against the Reapers. His mind settled on him bumping into Cage in the parking lot after they had won. He had been on the phone with Nia. Just like everything else, it was getting hard to believe all his involvements were just coincidences.

“She told me that Cage said Echo would be able to play, that she passed the qualifications,” Pike shook his head. “She did, except the fact that she was a premiere player.”

They understood why Nia was so upset now. She had trusted Cage to bring her a good, eligible player. Instead, he tried to twisting his way around the rules ( _again_ ) for his own gain.

Both Abby and Marcus knew why he did it. He was afraid of versing them in the finals and actually losing. He saw them as a threat, one he needed to eliminate.

Just like Indra, just like new teams that would’ve entered the league.

“So,” Abby commented, “does that mean…”

Pike smiled to her. “It means that Ice Nation, whether it be Nia’s fault or not, broke the rules. They used an ineligible player and that player was the make or break for your game.”

Abby felt her heart pounding faster in anticipation after every word he spoke. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair, scooting to the edge of her seat. Was it truly happening? Was that lucky break Abby had been waiting for, for five years, finally here?

Marcus watched him with wary eyes. He knew what was coming next, but he wasn’t sure if he could believe it. Hell, he had _hoped_ after that loss that something like this would come up. He never knew the lucky break Abby mentioned would _actually_ be a real thing.

Pike offered them a giant grin as he announced, “Ice Nation has been disqualified. The Delinquents are in the finals against Mount Weather."


	20. There comes a time when you have to choose between turning the page or closing the book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what do you mean marcus and abby cant adopt 13 children??????

Abby couldn’t figure out if she was happy or upset that this was the last practice of the season.

Half of her was jumping for joy. She didn’t have to deal with Marcus’ bullshit, she could have a shot without Jaha judging her, and she wouldn’t have to deal with Raven shoving grass down Miller’s shorts.

And the other half of her was gloomy. She wouldn’t get to give Marcus bullshit, she wouldn’t get to see Callie and Roan gang up on other parents, and she wouldn’t get to see Clarke happy like this until next season.

The decision was made as a ball went flying over Abby’s head, _barely_. Would it be detrimental to the team’s success if she called practice quits five minutes into it?

She caught a glimpse of Lincoln sitting on the bench out of the corner of her eye. Next to him were crutches and his foot now sported a boot.

Yeah, it would be detrimental.

Marcus gathered the kids in after helping Miller shake the grass from his shorts. The two coaches stood beside each other for the first time since the incident. But then they had stood on opposing sides.

Now, they stood as one.

“This is the last practice of the season,” Marcus stated the obvious, “and we’ve been granted the opportunity to play in the finals.”

Both of them could see the dread growing on the kids’ faces. They were probably imagining all the hard drills, running, and not fun activities they would be put through. If Marcus mumbled anything about running, Abby had silently promised to herself to shove grass down his own pants.

To ease their worry off, Marcus told them, “And no, practice won’t be like last Tuesday.”

“I won’t believe it till I see it,” the group heard Raven mumble. The kids burst into giggles as Marcus rose an eyebrow at her. She immediately offered a bright smile and added on, “And with that look, I believe it!”

The kids laughed louder this time and even Gaia shook her head with a smirk. Marcus shook his head as he rolled a ball over to Octavia, earning her eyes. He asked her, “What do you want to do for warm up, O?”

She smiled immediately. Everyone knew the answer before she replied, “Sharks and minnows!”

And so they played sharks and minnows. Clarke and Murphy started as the sharks this time, mixing it up with two instead of the usual one. Raven still didn’t get passed the first round and threw a fit to Clarke about ganging up on her.

Abby was pretty sure she heard Gaia tell her, “Suck it up, sweetheart.”

Given Raven’s temper and easiness to rile up, it was obvious she went after Gaia the next round. Surprising them both, Raven almost got Gaia out, but Gaia was able to recover in time. She made her way into the safe zone.

“I’m learning all your fancy tricks,” Raven shouted after her.

Gaia didn’t respond as she just smiled. And that’s when a light went off in both Marcus’ and Abby’s head. The whole time Gaia had been giving Raven shit for her diving in, Raven grew more and more determined to defeat Gaia. In result, Raven was learning to time her tackles. She was improving and Gaia was teaching her.

They both thought back to the many times Clarke and Lincoln had encouraged Octavia and showed her their nutmeg trick. They thought back to the time Lexa had instructed Harper, Monty, and Jasper one time at half when the two coaches argued.

When the two coaches couldn’t come together to coach their team, the kids came together and did it themselves. Both felt shame at the fact that the kids had to do it on their own, but now they didn’t have to.

Better late than never, right?

Too fast, practice was coming to a close. There was ten minutes remaining in their scheduled time slot. Usually, the two would let the kids end with a small scrimmage against each other, but Abby felt something else was needed.

She brought the kids together and they all sat around in a circle. Abby sat by Marcus and held a soccer ball in her hand. She held it up, explaining, “Everyone will get the ball once. When you get the ball, you’ll tell one thing you enjoyed most about the season, one thing you learned, and one thing you’ll miss. I’ll start it off.”

She lowered the ball and began spinning it in her hands as she looked around the circle. All eyes were on her but the pair that belonged to the man next to her made her nervous about her answer.

She cleared her throat and started off by saying, “What I enjoyed most about this season was probably seeing you guys grow into the team you are. It didn’t start off great, it never does, but you grew together and helped each other reach to the point you’re at today.”

She felt her nerves creeping in as her eyes flickered to where her daughter sat. Clarke offered her mother a soft smile, reassuring her that whatever she was going to say, Clarke would support her. Abby smiled herself and continued talking, “What I learned this season was that change may be scary, but sometimes you gotta take that chance for your best chance. And I’m glad I took that chance when I was finally convinced to do so.”

Abby felt a knee nudge hers and she looked over to Marcus, who offered her another reassuring smile. She gave him a small smile in response. She looked back to the kids and finished up, “What I’ll miss about this season is…you guys. When we had lost the semifinals, I felt a little lost. I wasn’t sure how to feel knowing I wouldn’t have been your coach anymore. You may annoy the shit out of me and make me regret getting out of the bed in the morning, but you’re my pain in the asses. I’ll be damned if someone like Cage rips apart this family.”

It was silent as Abby finished up. She felt a little embarrassed. She didn’t mean for the small activity to turn that deep but she felt as if she could finally summarize all the feelings she had kept bottled up the past few weeks.

“Yeah!” She heard Raven say, throwing a fist in the air, “Screw Cage!”

The kids all began to hoot and holler the saying and Abby burst into laughter. She wasn’t sure if they were the Delinquents or a Cage hate club. She was pretty sure they were both.

She rolled the ball over to her daughter, the chanting calming down. Clarke grabbed the ball and looked to her mother. Abby offered her the same smile and Clarke smiled back. She told her, “My favorite part of the season was winning a game!”

Abby smiled as everyone in the circle screamed in agreement. When they calmed down, Clarke continued. “What I learned this season was that I’m pretty good at defense and that I enjoy it.”

Her eyes had flickered to her mother but there was a soft smile on her lips. Abby returned the same smile. Clarke finished up by saying, “What I’ll miss about this season is making such an upset because when we win this Saturday, we won’t be the underdog anymore.”

The kids erupted into cheer again as Clarke rolled the ball over to Octavia. Octavia picked it up and set it in her lap. The cheering died down as all the eyes settled on her. She looked around before her eyes landed on her dad.

Octavia rested her hands on the ball and she said, “What I enjoyed the most about this season was sharks and minnows. I liked having fun at practice for once.”

Marcus felt the punch in his gut but Octavia winked at him as the other kids giggled. He didn’t feel the usual guilt those phrases had usually brought him. This time, it made him proud- proud of her for finding something she loved in the game.

She continued on by saying, “What I learned this season was that I can be a good player if I believe in myself like you guys believe in me.”

The line put a crack in Marcus’ heart. He had seen the support from Lincoln and Clarke. Theirs was the most blatant of the group, but he knew no one on the team wanted each other to fail. Her eyes had fallen on him, making his heart skip a beat. He always believed in her and he had always hoped she knew that. Her smile at him affirmed his thought.

“What I’ll miss about this season is playing sharks and minnows,” Octavia confessed. She shrugged as she said, “It was the first game that got me excited about being here. It was the first game I actually felt like I could play up to your guys’ standards.”

Marcus offered his daughter a smile as she rolled the ball over to Raven. He was proud of her. No matter the result tomorrow or any result in the future, he would always be proud of her. Nothing could change that.

“Alright! Listen up!” Raven announced as she snatched the ball up. She tried spinning it on her fingers and immediately dropped it. She caught it and slammed it on the ground, stating, “What I enjoyed most about this season was winning. Took five years but it felt _good_.”

The kids cheered in agreement and Raven smiled big. She spun the ball on the ground as she continued on, saying, “What I learned this season was that I _can_ defeat Gaia, even if it’ll never happen again.” Her eyes found Gaia’s. “You’ll never live it down.”

The kids laughed as Gaia glared at her across the circle. Raven winked at her, smile just as big. She told the group, “What I’ll miss about this season is the fun we had. Even when Coach Kane was being a hardass, I made it my mission to throw a joke in here or there. I’ll take the punishments, but I was hoping after the third set of running you gave me, you’d realize my jokes were hints- hints to HAVE SOME FUN!”

The group laughed, including the coaches. Marcus wasn’t going to lie- he hadn’t caught on. He may have, but he ignored them. Raven was probably the fittest player they had on the team since that practice.

“And for a bonus,” Raven added on, “I’ll tell you what I _won’t_ miss from this season. I won’t miss wearing those God awful rags you call ‘pennies’.”

Abby burst into laughter. The bluntness of her statement, the statement itself, the expression on her face, and Marcus’ offended look made the moment hilarious. She could feel the glare from Marcus but she couldn’t care. She offered Raven a thumbs up through her laughter.

Raven smiled bigger, her ego growing the slightest. She looked to Miller, finishing up by saying, “And I won’t miss Miller’s whiny ass.”

The kids burst into laughter, Murphy losing it the most. Miller was the only one not laughing as he crossed his arms. He tilted his head to the side and replied, “And I’m sure no one here will miss your big mouth.”

The kids laughed harder, Murphy falling back on the ground. Raven, not expecting the response, chucked the ball at him in response. He wore a smirk as he blocked it.

They went around the whole circle, making sure each delinquent had a chance to share their thoughts. Finally, the ball made its way to the last person. It slowly left Bellamy’s hands and landed in front of Marcus.

He picked it up as the laughter from Bellamy’s statement died down. He passed the ball between his hands for a moment as he watched around the circle. He began off by saying, “What I enjoyed most about this season, Raven,” he watched the color drain from her face, “was torturing you with wearing those pennies.”

The kids, including Abby, laughed as Raven pouted. He winked at her as he told them, “But seriously, what I enjoyed about this season was watching everyone grow as well, not even just the kids.” He looked over to Abby who immediately had glanced his way. He offered her a small smile down to her as he added on, “I grew and so did Abby. Hell, even Cece and Roan did. They only fought each other twice this whole season.”

The kids laughed at that but neither of the coaches registered it. They only registered each other as an understanding passed between them. Abby finally smiled back and broke the eye contact as the laughter from the kids died down.

He looked back to the kids and kept talking, “What I learned this season was-”

“The definition of fun?”

The interruption had come from Murphy. The kids all giggled as Marcus raised an eyebrow at him. He glanced down at his watch and told the boy, “There’s still three minutes of practice left. Would you like to sprint for those three minutes?”

Murphy wasn’t fazed; he never was. Marcus wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or impressed by it.

Murphy told him, “But I’m having so much fun here, you wouldn’t wanna ruin that now, would you?”

The kids laughed at that behind their hands, knowing all too well that Marcus could turn into his hardass self if he wanted. The old him would’ve made Murphy get up and start laps. The new Marcus just smirked and replied, “You’re completely right and for the fun to continue, you can’t interrupt me.”

The kids laughed again as Murphy rolled his eyes. Marcus looked around the circle as his eyes fell onto Octavia. He continued his last sentence before he was interrupted, “What I learned this season was that I can’t coach you guys to victory alone, my tactics alone would’ve never got us this far. And yes, Murphy that includes the fun aspect Abby brought to the team.”

The kids laughed as Murphy rolled his eyes again. Octavia was shining with pride for her father, a big grin on her face. He saw Bellamy next to her offering him a smile as well. When they made eye contact, he nodded his approval to his father.

Finally, his eyes found the coach beside him that he was finally acknowledging as a coach. He still felt bad for his actions at the Reapers’ game. If he was honest, he probably always would feel bad.

He knew they had made up outside of Pike’s office but that was just between the two of them. The incident had been in front of everyone, mainly the kids. He needed to show the kids he was in the wrong and make up for what he had done.

She was watching him in a mixture of awe and surprise. She knew they made moved past the incident the other day at Pike’s office, but she never imagined Marcus would apologize and confess he was wrong in front of the kids.

It made her heart do weird things, like flutter, and it made her stomach do flips. She felt a surge of gratefulness for him and what he was doing. He was truly trying to make up for his mistake.

He winked at her, smirking inside as he saw her cheeks flush the slightest bit. He looked back to the group and finished up by saying, “And what I’ll miss about this season is the team in general. Like Abby said before, this is a family, one Cage can’t rip apart no matter how many times he’s tried.”

He examined the group and added on, “We verse Mount Weather tomorrow in the _finals_. Who would’ve guessed the Delinquents would’ve made it that far, let alone win one game? No one, not even us, not even you if we’re all honest.”

Everyone silently agreed as they nodded, looking around the circle before looking back to Marcus. He admitted, “I know we spent a lot of the season arguing and not giving you the attention you all deserved individually to help improve this team, but we can promise that your dedication to teaching each other, intentionally or not, has not gone unnoticed. I know for sure it inspires me to become a better coach for you guys in the future.”

Abby agreed completely. While the adults acted like children, the children acted like adults. They improved the slightest bit on their own. Knowing they could have improved a lot more this season overall gave the two coaches inspiration to make that commitment.

“And you know what you guys need to do so we can actually coach you?” Marcus asked, looking around the circle.

It was quiet for once. No outburst from Murphy, no joke from Raven, no complaint from Miller. Then, suddenly, Octavia’s voice broke the silence. “Win,” she simply stated.

He smiled and nodded at his daughter. “Exactly,” he replied, “we have to win. That way we can continue to be your coaches and make you into the players and team we know you can be.”

The kids all looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Abby smiled as she watched them. It felt like a turning point; it felt _good_. Maybe they could actually do this.

Marcus tossed the ball in the air once and caught it again, drawing the eyes back to him. “Yes, the odds are against us this weekend,” he told them, “but the last time we versed Mount Weather, they versed a different team. They versed a team, not our family. This weekend, they’re going to play a different team, and that’s our family. And they better be prepared because those delinquents then aren’t the same ones sitting here today. These delinquents have won, they have improved, and they have become a family. Mount Weather is in for a rude awakening.”

It fell silent as Marcus finished and set the ball down in front of him. All eyes were still on him as he looked around the circle. Finally, his eyes settled on Abby who was watching him with complete awe this time.

He wasn’t wrong. The two of them had created a tiny family with these kids. Anyone could make a team, all you had to do was throw a few players together; but, to have a family, that team needed to go through Hell and back together.

Granted their team spent an ungodly uneven amount of their time together in Hell, they eventually came out of it. And when they emerged from it, they had emerged together, as one.

At the same time, they looked out to the kids who were watching them. It was silent as the last remaining minute of practice faded out.

It was peaceful. Looking around the circle, Abby was proud of what they had accomplished this season. Win or loss tomorrow, anyone would be lying if they said what the Delinquents had done wasn’t incredible.

Marcus stood up, breaking the trance everyone was in, drawing the eyes to him. He smiled big and asked, “So let’s kick ass tomorrow, yeah?”

All the kids jumped up and screamed, throwing their arms around each other or in the air. The scene made Abby smile as the kids surrounded Marcus, placing their hands all together for a last cheer of the practice.

Marcus looked over his shoulder to her, nodding towards the circle. Abby didn’t need words. He wanted her in the cheer- she belonged there.

She got up from her spot on the ground and stood besides Marcus and put her own hand in with the others. Marcus smiled and looked around to the kids, counting down, “3…2…1…”

“DELINQUENTS!” They all screamed in harmony.

It was a joyous sound. It sounded like family.

The kids began to walk off, chatting about random things now. The coaches stood in their spots for an extra second, watching as the kids walked off the field. They looked over to each other and smiled simultaneously and began walking back to the benches.

Both were packing up their equipment as parents and kids began to leave the field. Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia were off by the concessions waiting for their parents to get done.

Abby was just zipping her bag up when she felt the first drop of water on her arm. She looked to her arm and then to Marcus but he was busy zipping his own bag. She looked to sky, confused as no clouds were in the sky.

She shook her head and went back to zipping her bag. After a few seconds, she felt a stream of cold water hit her side. It made her jump and she looked down to her white shirt, seeing her skin showing through the now damp part of her shirt.

She looked over to Marcus again, but he was once again cleaning up, minding his own business. However, a jug of water stood guilty on the bench, a little too close to Marcus.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she went back to her bag. She kept flickering her eyes back and forth between her bag and the water bottle. Marcus wasn’t paying it any attention.

Reluctantly, she had to turn to the left to pick up an extra penny. That was all the time he needed.

As Abby was picking the penny up, she heard sometime being unscrewed. She snapped up and spun around, yelling, “MARCUS, DON’T YOU DARE-”

She was cut off as cold water was dumped all over her. Her hands came up in a futile attempt to block herself from the wave of water. It failed. She was _soaked_.

She had closed her eyes at the impact, shivering from the cold temperature of the water. Abby wouldn’t admit it, but the cold water had felt relieving in the heat. When she opened her eyes, she found Marcus standing there with the empty water jug.

“Whoops,” he said, “my hand slipped.”

She threw her penny at him, not amused at his little joke. He laughed in response as she looked down to examine herself. Her face paled in horror as she saw what she looked like.

Her white t-shirt had been completely soaked through, becoming see through. It was see through enough to showcase Abby’s hot pink bra. And when Marcus noticed it too, he laughed even harder.

Her head whipped up to him, eyes narrowing the slightest. She held her hands to showcase what he had done to her, asking, “You think this is funny?”

He was still laughing and laughed more at her question. It was an answer enough. Hell, it _was_ funny. Abby was just annoyed she didn’t have an extra shirt to drive home in and she didn’t have a jug of water to throw on him back in revenge. Otherwise, Abby wasn’t pissed off about it.

She crossed her arms over her chest and told him, “I'm in a white t-shirt with a pink bra and I'm soaked from head to toe. Fuck you, Kane.”

He laughed more, running a hand through his hair. He looked to her as his laughter died down, slowly walking towards her. Backing up, immediately, her back legs hit the bench, preventing anymore distance between the two.

Marcus made sure there was no distance between them as he approached her. He stopped in front of her, examining her outfit again. She had flushed under his gaze and he smirked _that_ smirk.

It felt like they were in his bathroom again. It felt like they were at the campfire again. Instead of shying away from the tension this time, Abby stood firm in her position, rising an eyebrow at him.

Her words echoed in his mind. His smirk broadened the slightest as he leaned down, whispering, “You wish.”

The movement had caused the two to press against each other, that friction from both nights returning. Just like before, it ignited those flames of _want_ throughout them both. Both could read it in the other’s eyes.

Marcus found his eyes dipping down to Abby’s lips, spotting a water droplet resting on the bottom one. Without much thought, he reached out, his thumb slowly rubbing it off.

Abby’s heart rate picked up at the contact and she felt herself draw in her lower lip in response. His thumb was still on her lip as she did so, and she could see his eyes dilate in reaction. She also saw him lick his own lips.

His hand that contained the thumb that was on her lip moved to lightly grab her chin, tilting it up towards him. Not wanting to waste another second, he dipped his head down, ready to claim her lips once more.

Right before his lips touched hers, _his_ voice rang out, asking, “Am I interrupting anything?”

Marcus stopped his advance, their lips achingly centimeters apart. He almost said, “Fuck it,” and kissed her either way, but he was sure that wouldn’t even be able to block out the annoying being that Cage was.

Marcus reluctantly pulled back and let go of Abby’s chin. It took all his will power to not pull her to him as he felt Abby follow his retreating hand the slightest bit, basically begging to not go. How much he didn’t want to.

He turned to Cage and cleared his throat, telling him, “Not in the slightest.”

Abby’s glare said otherwise. If she hadn’t already wished many car incidents where he would end up flat like a pancake on cement, then her glare would’ve wished that. Marcus was sure the glare now amplified to hitting him with her car off the Grand Canyon.

Cage tilted his head as he walked up to them, examining the two, eyes lingering on Abby for a moment too long. Marcus’ arm immediately wrapped around her back, his hand landed on her hip, pulling her to his side. Cage’s eyes saw the movement and watched it. After, his eyes found Marcus.

“You two seemed to have made up nicely from your little display the other day,” he commented.

“No thanks to you,” Abby snapped at him, arms crossing over her chest.

He feigned innocence and said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the crap, Cage,” Marcus replied. “We know you were involved in getting Indra’s team folded. We know you didn’t want three new teams in the league so you offered the merge of our team. We know you gave Nia an illegible player in hopes you wouldn’t get caught and destroy our chances of winning. And we know you were stirring up the pot between us, eventually leading to our fallout.”

Cage listened to the accusations but didn’t reply right away. Marcus was done with his shit, just like Abby was. There was nothing they could do about it without any evidence, but his ignorance to the subject was old news.

After the silence he smiled at them, telling them, “You caught me.”

“Are you that insecure?” Abby asked, “So insecure that you have to stoop to stepping around the rules and interfering with the league to benefit you?”

He shrugged and said, “I’m not insecure.”

“Bullshit,” she spat at him, “and you know it. If you weren’t insecure about your position in the league, Indra would still have a team, we wouldn’t have been merged, you wouldn’t have messed with the tension between us, and you wouldn’t have had felt the need to help Nia out for the semifinals.”

He didn’t reply right away as he watched them. He was wearing a coral suit today. The color didn’t flatter him at all.

“None of that matters,” he told them, “as you have no evidence to prove anything. You can’t get jack squat done about any of it.”

“We know that,” Marcus told him. He smiled at him, saying, “But we can win against you on Saturday and get you kicked out of the league anyways.”

Cage’s façade broke, anger seeping through. He took a step towards them, whisper-shouting, “I won’t be the one leaving the league after this Saturday.”

“And what illegal thing will you try this time to make sure that doesn’t happen?” Abby asked.

His gaze snapped to her. He spat back, “I don’t need to do anything illegal to win against a charity case.”

“No?” Marcus asked, ignoring the jab at their team. “Then why did you feel the need to do it before?”

He didn’t respond. He couldn’t respond. Anything he said then could be used against him. He just straightened his suit jacket and told them, “I can’t wait to see your resignation papers on Pike’s desk Sunday.”

“I can’t wait to see them either,” Abby called out after him as he walked away, “except they’ll be signed for you.”

He didn’t dignify her with a response and kept walking until he was out of sight. The two watched the space for a while before looking to each other.

“We gonna win this Saturday?” Marcus asked her.

“Fuck yeah."


	21. You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is it,,,,it’s THE game,,,can the Delinquents truly defeat Mount Weather? Read on to find out,,,  
> 14.6k words of SOCCER !!!! you're quiet welcome !!  
> and guess what,,,,WE'VE HIT THE 100K WORD MARK WOOHOO !!!

“Great day for soccer, isn’t it?”

“Every day is a great day for soccer, Cage,” Abby answered back.

Both teams were warming up as the three coaches stood together at the half line. They watched their teams warm up, sneaking glances at the other when they thought the other wasn’t looking. Yeah, they definitely were the adults of the bunch.

Just like Cage did every year at the finals, he wore his signature black suit. Abby was pretty sure the reason he wore a black one at the finals was because he was “attending the other team’s funeral”.

Yeah, Marcus thought it was as ridiculous as it sounded.

Cage looked over to the two, asking, “Ready to resign?”

Abby looked over to him and said, “I could ask you the same thing.”

He ignored her while looking back to their kids. He told them, “There’s no point in acting tough, we both know how this game is going to end.”

“We do,” Marcus agreed, “and that ending is where you resign.”

Abby saw Cage flinch the slightest and his jaw tightened. They were getting under his skin. Good, he deserved it for the past five years he had spent doing the same to them.

He turned to face the two completely and said, “Quit while you’re ahead, there’s no need to embarrass yourself.”

Abby cracked a bit herself, sick of his condescending tone. She snapped at him, “You know what, Cage? You can shove your ego up your-”

The shrill of Alie’s whistle caused the rest of Abby’s sentence to be lost in the wind. Cage smirked at her, lecturing her, “Watch your words today, Abby. Do you remember what happened the last time you got thrown out of a game?”

She didn’t forget, she was sure she wouldn’t forget it for a while. But that was in the past and the two had reconciled since. She replied, “No thanks to you.”

He winked and turned to go back to his bench. He called out over his shoulder to her, “Even though red is flattering on you, I want you to be present when I destroy you.”

She had taken a step towards him, to show much red flattered him when it came spurting from his nose when Marcus held her back. She settled for shouting after him, “Watch it Cage or I won’t be the only one sporting red!”

He just laughed in response as he made his way back to his team. She ripped her arm from Marcus and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked up to him as he watched her with his smirk. “What are you smirking about?”

“Nothing,” he told her as their kids came over to them. She pffed at him in response and he chuckled as the kids gathered around them.

Marcus clapped his hands together and offered them a grin. “Now,” he said, “this is that time we talked about in our last practice. We’re the underdogs. They think they can walk all over us just like they did when we first versed them. But, we aren’t those Delinquents anymore. We’re a family now, a family who has been through hell and back. Are we gonna let them push us back into it?”

A chorus of “No!” and “Hell no!”s rang out from the kids as the two coaches saw the fire combust in their eyes. Marcus looked to Abby and she nodded back to him. She stepped forward and told them, “Then let’s go push them back!”

The kids all screamed, jumping around and pushing each other slightly. The scene brought a smile to the two coaches’ faces and they looked to each other again. Marcus asked, “Ready Coach?”

She smirked, thinking that she loved the title. She would never get tired of hearing him call her that. She responded, “Always.”

Marcus got the kids calmed down and brought their hands together. Abby rested hers on Marcus’ and she felt his fingers slowly wrap around hers. She watched him as he looked around the circle and counted down, “3…2…1…”

They threw their hands up as each one of them screamed, “Delinquents!”

The starting lineup went on the field, leaving Octavia, Murphy, Jasper, and Harper on the bench with Lincoln. Octavia held his crutches as he sat down by her.

Wells stood in goal, nervous as a wreck. He looked over to where his father, Jaha, was. He was scrolling on his phone, not watching. Wells immediately felt deflated inside and fixed his left glove.

Raven held her familiar position as left outside back and Miller took his usual right outside back spot. With Lincoln injured and Abby finally seeing the truth, Clarke started as center back.

Lexa was on the left side of the midfield while Gaia was the center and Monty was on the right side. Bellamy stood up front as the lone forward.

Abby crossed her fingers and said a silent prayer for the lucky break to come through once again as Alie blew the whistle, signaling the start of the finals.

The Delinquents had sixty minutes to make a miracle happen. They had sixty minutes to pull off the biggest upset of Arkadia’s rec league. They had sixty minutes to save Marcus’ and Abby’s jobs.

Marcus had noticed her nerves. In an attempt to calm her down, he leaned towards her, asking, “Great day for soccer, isn’t it?”

Abby smiled up to him, glad for once someone she could tolerate _actually_ meant it. “Every day is a great day for soccer,” she answered automatically. It was also a great day to kick Cage’s ass.

Mount Weather started with the kick off and Emerson, the best player in the league, kicked it back to a teammate, who immediately distributed it to a teammate on the wing.

Lexa, who had always been the swiftest and quickest of the three Grounders, immediately applied pressure. Due to that, the Mount Weather had to pass back to their defender.

“Good job, Lexa!” Abby screamed from the sideline, clapping as she walked down the line.

The defender for Mount Weather switched the ball over their backline, getting the ball to the opposite side of the field. That outside defender exploded up the line and towards Monty.

Clarke shouted from the backline, “Force inside, Monty!”

Monty did as he was told without question, cutting off the sideline. He angled his defensive position to offer the inside of the field where his support was. The defender took a touch inside there and looked up for a pass. He saw his center midfielder open and kicked it towards him.

Gaia was the sneakiest of the three Grounders. A teammate may seem open, but Gaia would find her way in front of them, without the player knowing. She would intercept the pass and start a quick counter attack.

She did exactly that as she slid her way in front of Mount Weather’s center midfielder, intercepting the pass, her first touch taking her forward towards Mount Weather’s goal. Lexa immediately exploded up the line and Bellamy opened up for a pass as well.

“Yes! Go Gaia!” Marcus shouted from his position on the bench as he heard the kids cheering behind him.

Gaia passed to Bellamy, who tried to flick it to Lexa who was running past the back line. The center back was able to deflect it however and the pass went off track, going behind Lexa.

That didn’t stop her. She immediately cut and exploded after the ball, saving it before it went out of bounds. The outside defender for Mount Weather caught up to her, getting into a defensive position.

Everyone heard Raven shout, “Take him on, L!”

Lexa smirked and exploded forward at the defender. She tapped the ball to the left a bit with the inside of her right foot, drawing the defender over, but then used the outside of the same foot to push it right, getting past the defender. She took an extra touch to open her hips up to the goal.

She took a quick glance up, assessing where Mount Weather’s goalie was and then put her head down. She planted her left foot and drew her right leg back. She struck the ball, aiming for the lower right corner of the goal.

Mount Weather’s goalie dove for it, getting his fingertips on the ball. It wasn’t much but it was enough. The ball got redirected and it rolled over the end line.

“Damn!” Abby yelled to herself, stomping the ground. Around her, all the Delinquents’ parents screamed in disappointment but clapped anyways. Abby followed suit, yelling, “Keep it up, Lexa!”

Marcus was walking up to Abby, clapping as well, and added in, “It’ll come soon!”

Mount Weather got into a defensive position as Bellamy lined up to take the corner kick for the Delinquents. He backed up and looked into the box, locking eyes with Lexa. Both nodded to each other and Bellamy raised his hand to signal the corner kick.

He ran up and struck the ball, sending it flying into the goalie box. It went over many heads but Lexa backed up slightly. She then jumped up, meeting the ball in the air, and headed it towards the goal. Mount Weather’s goalie jumped after it, catching it as he hit the ground.

“Shit!” Abby whisper-shouted to herself, but clapped anyways.

Everyone ran out of the goalie box as the goalie got up from the ground. As Emerson passed Cage, his coach called him over. Abby noticed and watched as Cage was talking, obviously upset, and pointed where Lexa was recovering into her position.

Emerson was nodding and looked over to Lexa. He replied to his coach and Cage nodded back, patting him on the back, sending him back off to his forward position. Cage looked up, making eye contact with Abby and offered her a smile.

She didn’t return it but an uneasy feeling made its way into her gut. What had he told Emerson? Why did it involve Lexa?

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Abby told Marcus, crossing her arms over her chest as the Mount Weather goalie punted the ball up the field.

“What?” Marcus asked.

“Cage,” Abby nodded towards Emerson, “he told that kid about Lexa. I don’t trust him.”

Abby was right not to. The ball from Mount Weather’s goalie’s punt came down around the middle of the field, Gaia fending off a Mount Weather player to head it towards Lexa.

It wasn’t a clean header, the ball sailing through the air towards her area. Lexa didn’t see him coming, but Abby did. “Lexa!” She yelled as Emerson pummeled towards where Lexa was focused on receiving the ball.

Lexa must have not heard her, not responding. She stayed focused on the ball, lifting her leg slightly to trap the ball. The only problem was that the ball wasn’t the object to come in contact with her leg- it was another leg.

Emerson plowed through Lexa, faking as if he was challenging for the ball, and rocked Lexa to the ground. She immediately fell to the ground when his leg came in contact with hers, knocking her off balance completely.

Her cry of pain was overshadowed by Abby screaming at Alie, “Referee! Come **_on!_** He was nowhere near getting the ball!”

She wanted to go over there and knock Emerson over as he had done to Lexa but Marcus had her arm in his grip before she could get one step from her position. She tried tugging free many times as she threw more profanities out as Alie blew her whistle to signal the foul.

Abby immediately adjusted her attention to where Cage was standing and he offered her his signature smirk. She really wished she was in her car right now and he was in the parking lot. Hell, she would run him over here and now if she could.

Alie walked over to Emerson and lectured him about his foul; however, he was offered no yellow card. That got Abby’s attention and she looked back to Alie, shouting, “Are you kidding? A verbal warning? Look at what he did!”

Alie looked over to the bench and then to Lexa. She waved the two coaches over, but Indra was already running towards Lexa. Abby reached the two and her face dropped when she saw the position Lexa’s ankle was in. It was surely broken.

She must have landed wrong when coming down from the hit. Anger boiled in Abby and she turned to Alie, clearly expressing her anger by saying, “That was a reckless tackle, and you know it. Don’t do this verbal warning bullshit!”

Alie didn’t flinch away from her harsh tone. She only replied, “He was warned and his next foul, if one like this is repeated, he surely will be carded. Watch the tone as well, Coach, or I won’t be afraid to use my cards.”

Abby’s mouth dropped in disbelief and she raised her hand to lecture Alie on how she could shove her cards where the sun doesn’t shine but Marcus was already pulling her back to the bench. By the time they had gotten there, Indra had carried Lexa off the field and set her on the bench, ankle propped up.

Abby immediately went to the girl’s side and cupped her face in her hands. She tried whipping away the tears running down her face and kissed her forehead. She whispered to her, “I’ll make sure to kick his ass for you, okay baby?”

Lexa laughed a little, sniffling. She nodded and Abby kissed her on the forehead again, offering her a small smile. She told her as well, “You did an amazing job this season and in this game. Thank you.”

Lexa just smiled and her face quickly turned into a wince when Indra tried taking her cleat off. Abby put a reassuring hand on Indra’s shoulder. She gave it a squeeze and offered a smile as well. Indra just shook her head and told her, “Kick his ass.”

Abby replied, “Gladly.”

She left the two and went back to stand by Marcus. He was stroking his beard as he watched play resume. Octavia had been subbed on for Lexa, switching sides with Monty.

When Abby appeared at his side, he asked her, “Bad?”

“Bad.”

Marcus swore under his breath, his eyes finding Cage on the opposite side of the field. His eyes then fell on Gaia and Emerson who were currently fighting for a ball.

Gaia ended up winning it and passed it back to Clarke. Gaia felt a little shove in her back after she passed it and she spun around to see Emerson there. She tilted her head to the side, asking, “You gonna break my ankle too because you feel threatened?”

Emerson cast her a glance and only responded with, “It’s a contact sport. If she can’t handle it, then don’t play it.”

Gaia was going to tell him there was a difference between being physical and playing dirty, but she saw the perfect opportunity to get back at him for Lexa instead. Octavia had lost the ball and Mount Weather’s outside midfielder was looking for support.

Emerson had exploded into space, calling for the ball. Gaia let him get a step or two in front of her, giving the illusion he was open. The midfielder fell for it and passed it to where Emerson was making his run.

Gaia ran towards that same space and met the ball the same time it met Emerson’s foot. She plowed through him, stealing the ball from him and sending him flying into the ground. Immediately, Alie blew her whistle for a foul.

“Oh shit,” Abby said, half laughing as she watched Emerson roll a few times before coming to a stop.

Gaia had no problem with the call and rolled the ball to where Emerson was spitting grass from his mouth. He looked up to her, finding her smirking. It only further ignited the fire in his eyes. She mocked him, “It’s a contact sport. Can’t handle it? Then don’t play it.”

With that, she turned around jogged to get ready for the free kick. Raven was laughing and offered a high-five to Gaia, who gladly returned it.

Emerson slowly got off the ground and made his way to the same area where the players were gathering in front of the goalie box. He stood behind Gaia, shoving her slightly from behind. Gaia reached back and stomped down on his foot with her cleats. He backed off a bit in response.

Alie blew the whistle, signaling for the free kick to be taken. The Mount Weather player ran up and served the ball into the sea of players. Everyone scrambled, trying to either clear the ball out or knock it in the goal.

The ball came down towards Gaia and Emerson. Both were shoving each other, trying to overpower the other and win the ball. They both jumped up, Emerson slyly shoving her forward a bit, making her lose her balance and missing the ball.

As she came down, her head smacked back against the ground, the world immediately swirling. The ball bounced around the box for a while until Wells scooped it up. After the crowd thinned out, everyone saw Gaia lying on the floor and holding her head.

Alie immediately blew the whistle and rushed over. Emerson was looking down to her, an eyebrow raised as Gaia tried to focus on him, as three of him were currently present in her vision. He told her before walking away, “Can’t handle it? Don’t play it.”

She groaned in annoyance at the sudden flood of light in her vision. It added to the pounding in her head and made her dizzier. When Alie reached her, Abby was already rushing on the field.

When Abby reached the two, Alie had gotten Gaia to sit up slowly. Gaia was rubbing her temples and said aloud, “Everything hurts, including the sun. My head _hurts_.”

Abby frowned and grabbed one of Gaia’s hands, drawing her attention to her. She asked her, “What’s today, sweetheart?”

“Uh, the finals?”

“Day wise.”

“Uh….Um…” Gaia seemed to be thinking hard, scratching her head with her free hand. Her eyes finally landed on Abby, flinching in the sunlight. That motion made Abby’s heart sink, along with her answer, “Saturday? Right?”

Abby offered her a small smile anyways and nodded. She ran a hand through Gaia’s hair, getting some grass out of it. “We’re gonna get you on your feet,” Abby told her, “and then we’ll get you in the shade, okay?”

“I’m done playing?”

Abby broke a bit then, frowning the slightest bit. She couldn’t keep the crack out of her voice as she told her, “Yes, you’re done for the day.”

Gaia noticed it and immediately had tears in her eyes. Abby grabbed her hands and slowly helped her to her feet. Raven was immediately by their side with a water bottle and offered it to Gaia.

Gaia looked over to her and took it with a smile. “Thanks,” she told her.

Raven winked and said, “Anything for you, sweetheart.”

Gaia laughed a little, smiling growing. She winced the slightest bit but kept her smile on for Raven. Abby helped her off the field and over to the table Lexa was currently at.

Indra immediately rushed over, overwhelmed with the injuries to her kids. She asked Abby, “What the _fuck_ happened now?”

Abby shook her head and told her, “I’m pretty sure she has a concussion.”

The two looked to Gaia where medical was now assessing her. She seemed to be struggling with the light test. Their eyes then wandered to Lexa, where medical was testing her ankle. Her face was contoured in pain.

Indra shook her own head as she ran a hand through her hair, sighing heavily. “You have to win,” she suddenly said. Abby looked over to her and Indra was shaking her head again. She shrugged as she looked to Abby, stating again, “You _have_ to win. Not only because of your stupid bet but because Cage has to learn _this_ is not okay.”

Abby agreed completely. She turned to look back to the game, as it had resumed. Harper had been subbed on for where Gaia had been. Emerson had intercepted a pass Clarke was sending up the Monty. He went forward at Raven, easily getting around her as she dived in.

Clarke wasn’t able to recover from her passing mistake and Emerson lined up his shot, aiming for the lower right corner of the goal. The angle was weird for Wells and when Emerson shot the ball, Wells had no chance of stopping it.

It went right under Wells’ dive and into the back of the night. Mount Weather was now up 0-1.

“Easier said than done,” Abby mumbled in response more to herself.

She watched as Wells slowly got up and retrieved the ball from the back of the net. He seemed disappointed in himself as he kicked the ball up the field to the center. Marcus offered him support, clapping and yelling, “It’s alright, Wells! You got the next one! Head up!”

He didn’t seemed to convinced by Marcus’ words, instead he looked over to where Jaha was. Abby’s eyes followed his and landed on the boy’s father as well. Jaha wasn’t watching once again but looked up at the right time, noticing that Wells had been scored on. He shook his head in disappointment, looking right back to his phone.

Anger boiled in Abby. She had always been supportive of Clarke, as Marcus was to Bellamy and Octavia. Sure, they fucked up in some areas of that support but at least they were trying. From what Abby (and Marcus) had noticed, Jaha wasn’t even trying.

You could see the effect it had on Wells. He only ever wanted to be the best he could be for everyone. He never once complained about the lack of support. He waited for it come.

Unfortunately, with how clueless Jaha was unless it was something blatant and obvious, it would never come unless you confronted him. And that’s what Abby did.

She stormed over to where Jaha sat on his phone, Alie’s whistle signaling the game to resume. When her shadow cast over him, he glanced up from his phone to her. He recognized it was her and immediately winced back. Oh, she wanted to hit him again, but she couldn’t afford a red card right now.

She told him, “Don’t worry, I won’t hit you again. I don’t want Wells or Murphy to be without their supportive father at the finals, which neither had played in before. But wait!” She swiped the phone from his hand. “It wouldn’t matter if you were here or not because you’re not paying attention! You never have!”

“I do too pay attention,” was his only response. She wanted to chuck the phone in his face it was such a Murphy response.

“Yeah, you do,” Abby agreed, “but only when one of them fucks up. And when you see that, you don’t offer support, like you know, a good father would do.”

Jaha didn’t respond as he looked passed Abby to where Murphy sat on the bench, the only sub left besides Jasper. His eyes then traveled to where Wells stood in goal. His body language was obvious to anyone who paid just a little attention to it- he was disappointed in himself and had no confidence.

Emerson had the ball and beat Raven once again, her diving in as she fell for his scissors trick. This got him behind the backline as he rocketed another shot at Wells.

Wells dove for it, the ball going past him but hitting the right post. It came back and hit him in the back and started rolling to the goal line. He tried scrambling for it but Clarke had recovered behind him and cleared it out.

Wells slowly got up as Clarke ran off back into position. You could read the disappointment he felt in himself for the save. He brushed some dirt of his shorts as his eyes drifted over the field. Marcus was offering support once again from the bench.

Jaha noticed and watched Marcus for a minute before his eyes landed on Abby once again. She raised an eyebrow to him, obviously judging him. He sighed and looked back to Wells.

At the same time, Wells looked over to him. He had disappointed his father once by telling him he’d rather be playing soccer with Murphy, and every goal he let in, he felt the disappointment his father had for him grow.

What Wells didn’t know, however, was that Jaha wasn’t disappointed in Wells. Jaha sucked at baseball when he first began. He was an outfielder and missed every fly ball to him as he practiced with his own dad in the backyard.

Jaha had told his dad he wanted to be a pitcher, not an outfielder, one day, just like Wells had told him he wanted to do soccer, not baseball. Jaha’s father was disappointed in his son and told him he wouldn’t pay for his baseball if he wanted to be a pitcher. He remained as an outfielder.

Unlike his father that day, Jaha told Wells it was okay, that he would support him in doing so. Sure, he was upset he didn’t want to play the traditional family sport, but he would support him nonetheless. He wouldn’t put his son through what his father had done to him.

But, wasn’t he doing just that? He thought by letting Wells do what he wanted, he was supporting him. Obviously, he was still showcasing repressed disappointment about the tradition not being carried on. He wasn’t truly supporting Wells.

Jaha stood up from his chair then, clapping loudly, and yelled to his son, “Come on, Wells! One bad save doesn’t define you! You got this!”

It caught everyone off guard, including the parents on the sideline. Cece watched him in shock, asking, “Did something positive just come out of his mouth?”

Wells heard it the most as his head whipped to where he saw his father standing up. They made eye contact and Jaha offered him a smile. Wells was silent and stood still for a few moments, but slowly a grin grew on his face.

He gave his father a nod and turned his attention back to the game. Emerson was barreling down the field with the ball, drawing Clarke forward into a 1v1.

The two clashed, struggling to win the ball. Clarke was able to muscle Emerson off the ball and win it. She passed it out wide to Miller, who immediately passed it up to Octavia.

Harper was too close to Monty’s side of the field, not in a good position to support Octavia. She immediately was swarmed by two Mount Weather players and they stole the ball from her.

Their outside midfielder ran down the side of the field, coming up to Miller. He easily spun around Miller, taking the ball towards the goal. Clarke was stepping to apply pressure when the Mount Weather player wound up for a shot.

The player kicked a hard shot, the ball sailing towards the right upper corner of the goal. “Come on, Wells,” Abby silently prayed as everyone on the sideline held their breath.

Wells shuffled back as he watched the ball sail towards its target. He waited for the right moment and he jumped into a dive. It was timed perfectly.

Wells punched the ball away from goal, saving it. Everyone on the sideline screamed in astonishment and clapped, screaming in support for him. Jaha clapped more and yelled out, “That’s my boy!”

On the bench, Murphy had his mouth open as he watched Wells recover back onto his feet as Raven ran up the field with the ball. “Holy shit!” he commented as he threw his arms in the air, clapping for his brother.

Abby handed Jaha’s phone back to him as he settled back down in his chair. She told him, “See? Wasn’t so hard, was it?”

He rolled his eyes and ignored her, sliding his phone is his pocket. Abby smiled triumphantly and turned back to walk back to her bench. She stopped once she was beside Marcus and he commented, “Finally talk sense into him?”

“We’ll see how long it lasts.”

Marcus laughed and crossed his arms over his chest, focusing back on the game. Raven had advanced up the field enough to pass the ball to Bellamy. He easily received it and turned up, looking for a teammate.

He didn’t hear the usual yell from Lexa for a pass. Monty was wide open on his side but he said nothing as he continued his run. Bellamy mistaken his silence for being marked and decided to take on the defender in front of him.

He got past him, but his angle for a shot was not high percentage for a goal. Not noticing Monty again because he was silent, Bellamy took the wild shot. Mount Weather’s goalie easily caught the ball and jogged up to punt the ball.

“Damn it, Bellamy,” Marcus swore to himself. He didn’t have Lexa to rely on for communicating with so he retreated back to his old ways.

The ball fell and bounced towards where Miller collected it up. He took it up a bit before playing it to Octavia. She turned up to see the Mount Weather defender coming to apply pressure.

She froze up like she usually did. She didn’t have Clarke or Lincoln in her half of the field to call on for support. Harper was over too far again on Monty’s side and Bellamy was marked well by the center back for Mount Weather.

She ran out of time as the defender reached her and tackled her. Octavia immediately lost the battle and the defender played the ball up to his midfielder.

Miller stopped in his tracks as he watched the scene unfold. This let the midfielder fly by him and bring Clarke into a 2v1 that included Emerson. Clarke tried calling Miller back for support but it went in one ear and out the other. Gaia wasn’t there to threaten him into complying with her instructions. He was too focused on Octavia, shaking his head.

Clarke tried her best to cut off the angle of the goal and the passing lane for Emerson. Soon, she had to choose between stepping up or giving away the passing lane. She put trust in Harper or anyone dropping and covering her as she decided to step and apply pressure.

As she stepped, the player passed the ball to Emerson who was unmarked. He easily turned up and dribbled into the goalie box. Wells had already begun his advance to meet Emerson, but Emerson took an early shot.

It bent around Wells hands as he dove to the ground, reaching out to hope and get a touch. The ball skimmed at the top of his fingers and sailed into the back of the goal. Mount Weather was now up 0-2.

“Fuck,” Abby swore under her breath. The game had started so good, what happened?

Marcus shook his head as Wells gathered the ball from the net. These were the same mistakes the kids made when they first merged the team. They were a problem in the beginning but they had disappeared. Now, they were suddenly back, even after seeing that the Grounders had helped them improve the slightest bit.

That’s when the lightbulb went off in both of their heads.

Just like with them, the Grounders had masked the kids’ flaws. Even though they had helped them improve on them, with them on the field, the kids would still make their mistakes. However, unlike now, they weren’t on the field to clean up the mistakes so they weren’t lethal.

Abby and Marcus looked to each other and both swore. They were in big trouble if they couldn’t get the kids to see that they didn’t need the Grounder kids to be successful. Sure, it had taken the adults a big fallout to realize it, but they could the save kids from that. They could still win them this game if they coached them right.

Murphy was subbed on for Miller and Jasper went on for Octavia. As Murphy made his way back to where Miller was he heard Emerson laughing at Wells as he ran back. Murphy watched Emerson run up the field, a disgusted look on his face.

He looked back to his brother then, seeing the disappointment in his body language. Both of them heard their father yelling, “Get it back, son! You got it!”

Wells shook it off a bit and offered Murphy a smile. Murphy didn’t smile back as he watched his father for a bit. His eyes landed on Emerson again as the whistle blew, signaling the game to resume. He mumbled to himself, “Oh, he’ll get it back alright.”

The ball was passed back to Clarke as she called for it. She immediately played it out wide to Murphy who took it up the line a bit, before trying to find Jasper. The kid wasn’t in his position, he was more towards Harper, taking up her space.

Had Gaia been on the field, she would’ve instructed Jasper to stay on his side. Harper however, was closer to Monty’s side and didn’t instruct Jasper at all. Murphy got into a tackle as a result of the mistake and he ended up losing the ball.

Unlike Miller, he ran after the player, hoping to catch up with them. He was a few feet behind him so Clarke stepped to apply pressure, leaving Emerson open. Murphy dropped into Clarke’s old space, marking him.

The ball from their tackle bounced towards the two and they immediately fought to get there first. The laughter rang in Murphy’s mind as the ball rolled towards them. When the ball reached their area, Murphy grabbed a fist full of Emerson’s jersey and yanked him the ground, _hard_.

Alie immediately blew her whistle as Emerson smacked the floor. It had knocked the wind out of him, leaving him gasping for air. Murphy looked down to him, asking, “What? No air to laugh now?”

Emerson coughed as he tried to bring air into his lungs. Murphy laughed at his own joke and walked away from him. Alie presented him with a yellow card which he just shrugged off.

Roan was laughing on the sideline and commented, “Now _that’s_ what I call support.”

Abby couldn’t help but laugh as well. She watched as Murphy offered Wells a smile, which the brother returned. Like he had done against Alpha Station, he offered support to Wells rather than beating him down like he usually did. At least one thing had improved and stayed without the Grounders.

The free kick was taken by Emerson but he missed wide. Wells played a short goal kick to Clarke who turned up to dribble up the field. She found Harper making a run up the field in the center as Bellamy found empty space where Jasper was supposed to be but he was back by Murphy.

Clarke played the ball into Harper’s run and she collected it easily. She exploded into the empty space Bellamy left behind and saw an opening for a shot. What she didn’t see, once again because he stayed silent, was Monty who was open as his defender tried to slide over to mark Harper.

She took the shot, aiming for the left lower corner. The Mount Weather goal keeper dove and missed it, but the ball hit the post. The ball bounced back to where Monty was left unmarked. Abby and Marcus hold their breath, hoping Monty had the confidence to shoot it.

He trapped the ball efficiently and looked up to see a defender barreling towards him. He also saw the goalie running over to cover that side of the goal. He freaked out and took a wild shot, the ball sailing completely wide of the goal.

Abby and Marcus sighed in disappointment but clapped anyways. Abby yelled out, “Nice try, Monty! Try calling for it earlier for a better angle!”

Lincoln had always been the one to make Monty talk a bit more at practice besides the usual two he hung out with. Without him on the field, Monty went back to his usual quiet self.

The Mount Weather goalie kicked the goal kick and the ball sailed towards where Monty was. He trapped it and dribbled up the field while looking for an open pass.

Harper had come over to offer a passing lane but she was too close, drawing her defender onto Monty as well. Monty lost the ball in the struggle and the two midfielders exploded up the center of the field.

They barreled towards where Clarke was still marking Emerson. Her odds of winning the 3v1 were not high. They seemed to brighten up when the player with the ball didn’t make a great pass to his teammate. Clarke stepped forward, confident she would intercept the pass and left Emerson alone.

That confidence shattered when Jasper appeared out of nowhere and tried stealing the pass as well. He had retreated in hopes to recover the ball to make up for Monty and Harper’s mistake. What he didn’t know was that him dropping into this position now made another mistake.

He did, however, intercept the pass but his foot got stuck on the ball. He flew forward, shooting the ball back to the original passer from Mount Weather. Now that Clarke was drawn up, it left open a passing lane for Emerson to enter.

The Mount Weather player played the ball into the space and Emerson ran onto it. With no pressure, he turned with ease and exploded into the goalie box.

Wells tried once again to come out, but Emerson cut around him this time. Easily, he slotted the ball into the back of the net, making the score now favoring Mount Weather 0-3.

Alie blew the whistle to signal the goal and gave it an extra blow, signaling the end of the half.

It was silent as the kids walked off the field and to the bench. Abby and Marcus examined them all as they got their water and sat down. Abby’s eyes flickered to the table where Indra still sat with Lexa and Gaia.

When the kids settled down, they all looked to their coaches. Neither said anything at first but just watched the kids. They didn’t really know what to say. The team had never recovered from a game where they were down 0-3 at half.

“At least it’s only 0-3,” Murphy broke the silence. The comment earned a laugh from everyone, lightening the mood slightly.

The seriousness of the situation returned quickly however as Marcus looked to every kid. What the two had realized rang in his mind again. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair asking, “Does anyone know what we’re doing wrong?”

Silence was the only answer he received as the kids looked to each other, hoping the other would have the answer. Abby’s eyes fell on her daughter as she found her in deep thought.

Clarke suddenly answered, “Us.”

Marcus and everyone turned to look at her. He asked, “Us?”

She nodded as she looked around her team and settled for looking to her mom. “We have flaws, we’re making mistakes that we know we’re making. You’ve pointed them out before to each and every one of us, but we’re still making them.”

The two coaches agreed. Marcus asked her, “And do you know why?”

Clarke shrugged, her eyes now landing on Lincoln. They soon drifted to where Lexa and Gaia were resting. She answered, “Because when they were playing, those mistakes didn’t matter. They would clean up after our mistakes.”

Spot on. Marcus looked back to Abby and she nodded in agreement. He looked back to the kids and asked, “So how do we fix this?”

This time Clarke didn’t have an answer. None of the other kids offered one either. This time, Abby stepped up and answered, “It’s simple, really. You guys _did_ learn over this season. Even if you didn’t learn everything from us, you learned from each other. The only difference between then and now is that they’re not on the field to offer you that assistance right beside you.”

Marcus nodded in agreement and built off her, saying, “That doesn’t mean you can’t do what you improved on. You don’t need them on the field to be the Delinquents who win. You can be those Delinquents by being yourself and remembering what they taught you. You just have to believe you can do it. I know we believe you can.”

Abby smiled as she saw nods of agreement around the kids. She added on, “Just because they’re not on the field with you, doesn’t meant they still aren’t with you. Lincoln is on the bench and Lexa and Gaia are over there staying to support you. And us?” She looked over to Marcus who was offering her a smile. “Even if one of us might not be present due to a red card, we are supporting you just as much as we would be if we were sitting beside you on the bench.”

The kids nodded and Clarke smiled at her mother. Marcus’ hand found its way to Abby’s, out of view from the kids, and he gave it a small squeeze. He said, “It’s true. We had our moments this season where we delayed your improvement with our bickering, but you found a way to improve on your own. Do you know what they are?”

The kids fell silent as they looked up to Marcus, waiting for him elaborate.

First he looked to Clarke. He told her, “You’re a leader, Clarke. You always wanted to be one and knew you couldn’t fulfill that role as a forward. You took on the challenge of a new position because it gave the team their best chance.”

Clarke nodded and her eyes flickered to her mother for a quick second. They exchanged smiles and Clarke focused on Marcus again. He added, “That third goal? Call Jasper off that ball, but first make sure he stays in his position. You’re in a prime position to showcase your leadership. Use it.”

Clarke nodded a lot and smiled in response. Marcus looked next to her, spotting Jasper. He told the boy, “You have a shit ton of energy, Jasper, probably the most on the team. You love to keep moving, but you need to make it have a purpose. Try moving and creating open space for your teammates.”

Jasper shouted, “Yes sir!” earning a couple laughs.

Marcus moved onto Monty who shrunk a bit under his coaches’ glance. Marcus offered him a small smile and said, “You’re quiet, Monty, but it’s been shown that it can be used to your advantage. You work well with your brother. Use the space he’ll create for you and sneak into there. Don’t be afraid to call for the ball then.”

Monty nodded and turned to face Jasper. The lifted their hands for a high-five but they high-fived themselves, smiling at each other in the end.

Marcus’ next target was Harper. He told her, “You love to include Monty in everything, to a fault sometimes. But you can use that now to find him when he’s sneaking into the space Jasper creates for him.”

Harper grinned big and nodded, looking to Monty. Monty looked to her as well and the two blushed and looked away from each other.

Marcus chuckled as he looked to Bellamy. He told his son, “You’re a leader too, Bell. What your fault is that you think you have to do it alone. That’s what I thought as a coach but I learned I needed help to make this team successful. You have a whole team behind you, ready to support you. For you to be successful, you have to include them, like passing to Monty that one time instead of taking a low percentage shot.”

Bellamy nodded and smiled at his dad. Marcus returned it and saw Miller with his arms crossed. He told Miller, “People make mistakes, Miller. You can’t hold grudges against them, that will only do harm to this team. I saw you at practice retreat once and save a goal. Your teammates need that support, not the criticism that won’t help them improve.”

Miller stared at Marcus for a minute but finally uncrossed his arms and nodded in agreement. Marcus then found the two brothers who had showcased their improvement already today. Marcus told Murphy first, “You’re already doing what we’re talking about. You’re a physical presence on our team, keep that up. Protect your brother.”

Murphy smirked and nodded and patted Wells hard on the back. Marcus then focused on Wells, telling him, “You always try your hardest because all you want to do is make people happy. Just know, we all see the effort you put in and it counts. Sometimes effort is enough. Just know even if you let a goal in or a few, this team still supports you as if you let zero in. Keep up the work rate.”

Wells smiled big and nodded as he looked to Murphy. Murphy offered him a knuckle and Wells gave him one back. Marcus smiled at the two as he eyes fell on Raven. She had one eyebrow raised at him and asked, “And what am I great at, Coach?”

The whole bench laughed, including the two coaches. After Marcus’ laughter died down, he answered her, “You’re a great prankster, of course. You know how to wait for the right moment before you strike with your prank. Tackling is the same way. You have to wait for the right moment before you initiate it. You’ve done it before- with Gaia during Knock Out. Now, just imagine every tackle as her or a prank and you can do it.”

Raven nodded in agreement as her eyes wandered to where Gaia laid down, an ice pack held her to forehead. She looked back to Marcus and saluted him, saying, “You got it, Coach!”

Everyone laughed again and Marcus’ eyes fell on the last person on the bench. Octavia sat there, watching her dad and waiting for what he would tell her. He gave her a smile small as he told her, “All you really want to do is have fun. Is that a crime? I used to think so, but not anymore. You’re the best you, you can be when you’re having fun. And when I see you having fun, I see confidence in you. When you’re confident in yourself, you look the happiest I’ve seen you. Bring the fun to the game.”

Octavia smiled after the first sentence left her father’s mouth. After he had finished, she was full on grinning. She nodded and responded, “Make my own shark and minnows.”

Marcus chuckled in response and replied, “If that’s what you want, then so be it.”

Octavia nodded again and Abby squeezed Marcus’ hand after he finished. She had agreed with every word he had said. These kids had improved, they just had to see they could be themselves and be great. They didn’t need others to be great, they just needed to be the Delinquents they were.

Abby told the group, “You’re the Delinquents for crying out loud. You think we randomly chose that name? Hell no!” She examined the group one by one, smiling to herself. “We chose that name because we knew you were trouble. So, why don’t you go create trouble for Mount Weather?”

The kids suddenly cheered and jumped up off the bench and ground. Abby grinned as the kids gathered around the two. She told them, “We may be losing right now, but anything can happen. You can make anything happen. Don’t let anyone else tell you different. You’re the Delinquents and the Delinquents write their own ending.”

The kids screamed again, throwing their arms in the air, chanting their team name. Marcus looked over to Abby, pride and adoration shining in his eyes. She knew most of it was for the kids but she felt a hint of it directed at her.

They all brought their hands together, the coaches putting their already conjoined hands on top of the kids’. Marcus locked eyes with Abby as they counted down together, “3…2…1…”

“DELINQUENTS!”

Their hands flew in the air, the screams getting lost in the air. The lineup that ended the half walked onto the field, leaving Octavia and Miller as subs.

Marcus and Abby had lost contact when they threw their hands up for the cheer but they stood right beside each other as Alie blew the whistle for the second half to start. Marcus’ fingers brushed against her arm as he stood with his arms crossed.

“They have thirty minutes to save our jobs,” Marcus stated.

“And I wouldn’t trust any other group of kids to do it,” Abby admitted.

He looked to her, a side grin adorning his lips. “Me either.”

Mount Weather started this half with the ball, Emerson taking the kickoff. He played it back to his center midfielder, who immediately played it out wide to their right outside back.

Emerson was making a run up the field, leaving Clarke’s area and entering Raven’s space. Clarke called out to her, “Raven! Man coming!”

Raven immediately adjusted her defensive stance as Mount Weather’s defender passed the ball to Emerson. She ran up to apply immediate pressure as Emerson turned to face up.

Emerson dribbled up slightly and Marcus recognized Raven’s feet moving repeatedly. Her eyes were constantly following the ball and his feet. She was memorizing his steps like she had done with Gaia.

He tried faking her out, but Raven didn’t fall for it. This brought them closer together, closing the space in between them.

Raven’s patience won over when he took a bad touch, the ball rolling a bit too far in front of him. Raven recognized the moment and threw herself in for a tackle. Emerson wasn’t prepared and immediately lost the battle, Raven zooming on by with the ball.

Abby and Marcus screamed in support, clapping. They glanced over at each other and smirked. Turning back to the game, they saw Raven find Harper in the middle. This time, she was in the center of the field where she belonged, not favoring Monty’s side.

As soon as she received the ball, Bellamy shifted over towards Jasper’s side, drawing Mount Weather’s center back with him. Jasper also ran across the field, drawing his defender over. He crossed in front of Bellamy, drawing his defender along with him. This left Bellamy wide open.

Cage was suddenly running up his sideline, screaming at his right outside defender to drop and cover. The player immediately ran over to mark Bellamy.

The whole time Monty had stayed back, careful to not draw attention to himself. By staying back, Cage and the backline had deemed that Monty wasn’t dangerous. They figured he would stay back.

They were wrong.

As Harper advanced up the field, Monty did as well. When she was approached by a Mount Weather player, Monty yelled out, “Harper!”

Harper heard him and immediately slotted the ball into his run. Cage watched in horror as the ball slowly made its way to Monty. He screamed at his defense to drop but it was too late. Monty had received the ball and advanced to goal.

The Mount Weather goalie stepped up, holding his hands up for a shot. Abby couldn’t decide if she wanted to watch or not. She was afraid of the outcome even though she was praying for the ball to go in the goal.

Monty kept making an advance towards the goalie, drawing him out further. When the goalie started to slide on the ground to tackle him, Monty kicked the ball towards the right corner.

The ball slipped under Mount Weather’s goalie and slowly raced towards the goal line. Soon enough, the ball crossed the line and found its way into the back of Mount Weather’s goal. Alie’s whistle broke through the silence, signaling a goal.

The Delinquents had scored. It was now 1-3.

Screams erupted from the Delinquent’s sideline. Abby threw her arms up in the air as did Marcus. “Hell yeah, Monty!” Abby cheered as she pumped her fist into the air. What she really wanted to yell was, “Take that, Cage!” but they still losing and Abby didn’t want to jinx their luck.

The kids on the field swarmed Monty as they hugged him in celebration. As quiet as he was, he didn’t know how to handle the attention, so, he just smiled and accepted it.

Abby got more satisfaction out of the goal when she saw Cage’s reaction. He was tugging at his hair as he yelled at his players. He threw his hands up in frustration and stormed back to his bench.

As if feeling her eyes, he looked up to meet her gaze. She offered him a typical Cage smirk and he ignored her, clapping and screaming at his kids to pick it up as Alie blew her whistle for the kick off to take place. Abby and Marcus exchanged a quick high-five, smirking in response.

Mount Weather tried a quick attack from the kick off, Emerson playing the ball to their right outside midfielder instead of their center midfielder. As they dribbled up, Raven stepped to apply pressure.

As she had done with Emerson, she watched their feet and the ball. She adjusted when needed and initiated another greatly timed tackle. She struggled a bit to win the ball, but eventually she got it and immediately passed it back to Clarke.

Clarke was already examining the field as the ball made its way to her. She found Harper checking to her, drawing her mark with her. That in turn opened space behind her for Bellamy to check into.

Clarke played him the ball, bypassing Harper. Bellamy easily trapped the ball, but didn’t keep it long. He flicked it with his right foot, skipping the ball behind and between the right outside defender and center back.

Being quiet once again, Monty was invisible as he ran behind the outside right defender and onto the ball Bellamy played.

He connected with the ball and wound up for a shot. When he kicked the ball, it sailed to the far right of the goal. Mount Weather’s goalie dived for it, but the ball traveled wide of the goal, going out of bounds.

“Shit,” Marcus whispered to himself at first, but immediately yelled out to the team, clapping, “Keep up the pressure!”

Cage was enraged again, yelling at his defensive line. He yelled at them, “Figure something out before I yank all of you!”

As the Mount Weather goalie took the goal kick, Murphy stepped up to apply pressure to his mark. The ball traveled to where the two were trying to overpower the other to win the 50/50.

The Mount Weather player won the battle and got in front of Murphy to receive the ball. Just because he lost the initial battle didn’t mean Murphy would let him trap the ball with ease.

As the ball dropped down, Murphy threw his leg around in attempt to get a touch or deflect it the slightest bit. He got lucky as he caught the Mount Weather player off guard, the ball connecting with both Murphy’s foot and the Mount Weather’s player’s thigh.

It rolled away from them both and Jasper was able to collect it up. He immediately pushed up the field and passed to Bellamy quickly. Where Bellamy was positioned, he drew the center back and the right outside back towards him, getting himself in a 2v1.

Bellamy heard Clarke yell out from behind him, “Find Monty!”

Monty had gone out wide this time, drawing himself close to the sideline. He was slowly making a run up the line for Bellamy to play him. Bellamy looked back to the 2v1 he was in and surprised the two as he played Monty through.

The ball was a little off due to Bellamy’s original positioning and it soon became a foot race between Monty and the right outside defender. Monty barely won, collecting the ball and kicked it up a few feet to gain extra space between him and the defender.

That move was cut short when the Mount Weather defender slammed his body into Monty’s, sending him flying to the ground. As soon as Monty hit the floor, a cry of pain escaped him.

Immediately, Alie blew her whistle and ran over. Abby watched in horror as Monty slowly got up into a sitting position. The poor kid was holding his arm to his chest.

Cece was immediately out of her chair and storming down the sideline, shouting across the field, “Whose kid is that? Show yourself! Or should I punch Cage instead? How about both of you!”

Jackson, Sinclair, and David Miller immediately restrained her. And, _yes_ , it took all three of them.

Abby ran over when Alie called her on and she looked down to Monty. He looked up to her and said, “It just hurts really bad.”

Abby crouched down by him and lightly took ahold of his arm. She saw the bruising starting to form on his forearm already and spotted some swelling. She smiled and told him, “I think you just took a hard hit. Come on, we’ll ice it.”

She helped him up and off the field. As they made their way back to the bench, Marcus called out, “Miller, you’re playing outside left mid.”

Miller stayed on the bench for a minute longer as he watched Abby help Monty onto the bench. She instructed Jackson to get ice and reassured him she would tackle Cece before she ran on the field towards Cage.

Miller hopped off the bench and ran to where the free kick would be taken. He set the ball and backed up, hearing Alie’s whistle, signaling that he could take the free kick.

His eyes flickered to where Mount Weather had step up their wall, noticing the player who had hurt Monty. He slowly looked back to where Monty now held an ice bag to his forearm. His eyes flickered to where Marcus stood and Marcus offered him a smile.

Miller looked back to the ball, his eyes slowly travelling back to the one Mount Weather. He mumbled to himself, “Well, no grudges right? Then let’s get revenge right away.”

Miller smirked to himself as he ran up to kick the ball. He took aim at his target and rocketed a shot towards his goal. Only, his target wasn’t the goal- it was the player who took out Monty.

The ball struck the ball the player where the sun doesn’t shine due to certain anatomy and the player immediately fell in pain.

Marcus froze up at the scene, as did everyone else. Cece soon broke the silence by laughing and yelling, “That a boy, Miller!”

Roan joined in with laughter echoing off him, shouting, “Now do that to Cage!”

The whole parent sideline laughed in response and even Abby couldn’t keep a smile off her lips. Marcus looked back to her as she made her way beside him once again. He asked her as Cage subbed the injured player off, “You want those honors?”

“I’d rather have the honor of running him over,” she replied.

He laughed as Alie blew the whistle to resume play. Mount Weather used their free kick to blast the ball up the field.

The ball sailed over Miller and towards Raven and her mark. They both turned to chase after it as it bounced over their heads. They pushed against each other, hoping to reach the ball.

In the box, Murphy was marking Emerson, who was trying to stand in front of Wells to restrict his view. Murphy was trying to his best to muscle Emerson away from Wells as the two raced towards the ball outside the box.

The Mount Weather player got the edge on Raven and reached the ball first, immediately sending a cross in.

As the ball traveled to where the three struggled in front of the goal, the two brothers heard Jaha screaming in support for them. Murphy pushed a little more, squeezing himself in between Emerson and Wells. This caused Emerson to move away from Wells slightly, freeing him.

That gave Wells the time he needed to line up and jump up, snatching the ball from the air. He came down and ran to the top of the box, hearing Clarke call for an early ball to her feet.

As he rolled the ball to her, screams exploded on their sideline in support of him. He smiled as Clarke received the ball and charged forward into empty space. She spotted a chance for a quick counter attack with many of Mount Weather’s field players pulled forward from the last attack.

Bellamy pulled himself off to the side a bit, calling for the ball. Clarke played him and he trapped the ball, his back to Mount Weather’s goal. Clarke yelled out to him, “Man on!”

Miller was trying recover up the line but wasn’t fast enough. Jasper was in a similar position as he tried to offer support to Bellamy.

He was stranded in a 1v1.

He kept the ball out of the center back’s reach as he tried to poke his foot around Bellamy and win the ball. Bellamy’s eyes wandered to their bench where he saw Lincoln sitting on the bench. They made eye contact and Lincoln nodded towards him.

Recreating the nutmeg Lincoln had pulled on Murphy at practice forever ago, he tapped the ball with the back of his heel. As he did, he spun off the center back. The ball traveled through the center back’s legs and met Bellamy’s run as he spun off and around him.

It got him behind the backline and he exploded towards goal, where only the goalie was left to beat. Marcus crossed his fingers after the initial shock of the move Bellamy had done. He must have practiced it on his own after he saw Lincoln do it.

Bellamy soon reached the goal and lined up a shot. He let go of a hard shot and the ball easily sailed passed the Mount Weather goalie and into the back of their goal. Another goal for Delinquents, making the game now 2-3.

Marcus fist pumped slightly, screams erupting once again on their sideline. “That’s it, Bell!” He yelled out to his son, pride beaming in him. Abby was clapping as they both looked at each other.

They could really do this. There was plenty of time left to score two more goals. The question was just if they _could_.

Abby and Marcus believed they could, the kids just had to as well.

Thinking of that, Marcus looked behind his shoulder and to where Octavia sat on the bench. He walked over to her, crouching in front of her. He asked her, “You ready to add fun to the game?”

She smiled and asked, “By winning?”

He winked at her and nodded. “Go in for Jasper,” he told her.

She jumped up and did as instructed. Marcus ruffled Jasper’s hair as he came off the field. He immediately went over to his brother to check if he was okay.

“Two more,” Marcus thought aloud as he stood back by Abby.

She crossed her arms as Alie blew the whistle once again to resume the game. The two words made her nervous. They were two goals away from winning this game and pulling off a miracle. She repeated him, “Two more.”

Mount Weather was pushing up the field again, desperate to change the tide of the game in their favor. They tried advancing on Raven’s side again, but she stayed patient, waiting for the right moment to tackle.

The outside midfielder tried completing a give-and-go with Emerson, to get around Raven, but Raven read their body language, and intercepted Emerson’s pass back to the outside midfielder. Immediately, Raven played the ball up the line and to Miller.

Miller dribbled up the field into the empty space, looking for another teammate. Bellamy was coming closer for a short support route, leaving space for Octavia to run into.

Miller took the chance and served a ball into that space Bellamy left behind, hoping that Octavia would run onto it. She tried to, but the left outside defender for Mount Weather reached the ball first, collecting it up.

That player immediately found their center midfielder, hoping to strike on a counter attack. Miller felt the outside right defender run past him by a gust of wind rushing by. He watched the player advance and didn’t follow right away.

His eyes flickered to where Octavia was trying to recover for her mistake, obviously upset she had lost their possession. He felt a bit inspired by her hard work to cover up her mistake and looked to where the Mount Weather defender was making a run up the field. If Miller didn’t track the run back, it would leave Raven vulnerable in a 2v1.

“Come on, Miller,” Marcus whispered to himself. He had gotten back at the Mount Weather player that had hurt Monty, surely he would recover now as well.

Miller looked back to the bench, his eyes settling on Monty for a while. He then looked back to the Mount Weather defender and took off into a sprint after him. His speed surprised Marcus, but he guessed it must’ve been from all the times he made the kid run at practice.

Miller recovered quickly, just as the center midfielder for Mount Weather played a ball into the defender’s run, hoping to draw Raven into the 2v1. Miller spoiled their plans as he came from behind the defender, him not noticing, and slipped in front of him to steal the ball.

Miller caught them off guard and that delay was enough for Harper to react and get into space away from Mount Weather’s center midfielder. Miller played a well-paced ball into her run and she exploded up the field in quick counter attack. Miller transitioned back up the field as well, leaving the defender to catch him.

“GET BACK!” Cage yelled, nerves wrecking his core. His usually perfectly sculpted quiff was astray, strands going in all directions from him constantly pulling at it. Abby relished in the delight his discomfort brought her.

Bellamy was alone with the center back as Harper dribbled up the field. Miller was slightly behind the duo, his defender trailing behind him. Octavia was in a similar position as Miller, but her defender was right with her.

Bellamy leaned into the center back, using the momentum to push off him and into open space for Harper to find his feet. She played the ball right to his feet, drawing the defender over to him. With one touch, Bellamy played the ball right back to Harper.

Harper took her first touch forward, exploding into the space the center back had opened up when he followed Bellamy. She advanced to goal as Miller joined her side. As they ran towards the goal, the goalie for Mount Weather slowly came out from his net, unsure what to do.

Harper wound up a shot, but as her leg came back to strike it, she passed it to Miller instead. Mount Weather’s goalie fell for the fake shot and dove to the right, the opposite direction of where Harper truly played the ball.

Miller easily trapped the ball and took his first touch towards the goal and behind the goalie. He easily slotted the ball into the goal, tying the game up 3-3.

Abby screamed in joy and disbelief. Had you asked her at the beginning of the season if she thought her team would be tied with Mount Weather, let alone score a goal against them, she would call you crazy. But this was happening, this was real life. This wasn’t a novel or a movie.

She suddenly turned to Marcus and pinched his arm. He yelped in shock and pain as he looked to her, confusion swimming in his eyes. She watched his reaction and then shrugged. She explained, “Making sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

The confusion in his eyes was soon replaced with playfulness. He told her, “I think you’re supposed to pinch yourself to check that.”

“And hurt myself in the process?” She asked, “Nah, you’re a better guinea pig.”

He laughed and looked over to where Cage was. He was screaming at his players, using not so nice of words. Marcus could see the rage rolling off him, the frustration evident in his hand motions.

Marcus commented, “Sounds like you.”

“Pfft,” Abby scoffed, “my vocabulary is much more extravagant.”

Marcus laughed again as Alie blew the whistle, signaling for the game to continue. As Mount Weather took the safe route of passing all the way back to their defense, Abby checked the game clock they kept on their own.

There was just over five minutes left. The Delinquents had just over five minutes to get another goal or they would enter overtime.

That also left five minutes for Mount Weather to maybe sneak another goal in. And it looked like they were trying to force that.

After keeping possession for a while, making the Delinquents chase around on defense for a bit, they suddenly charged forward. The whole team but the backline, besides the outside defenders slightly, pushed forward to try and get a goal.

“Miller! Octavia! Track those runs!” Clarke yelled as she got closer to Emerson. She looked to her left and right and demanded, “Raven! Murphy! Touch tight with your marks! Deny anything!”

Each player did as they were told. Mount Weather’s center midfielder was currently dribbling up the field, Harper applying pressure as he came closer. As she came closer, he played the ball out wide to Raven’s side.

Emerson checked off Clarke and into a run behind Raven. Clarke followed him as the outside midfielder one-touched the ball into Emerson’s run around Raven.

The ball had more weight on it than expected and it ran by both Emerson and Clarke. The two adjusted their runs and sprinted after the ball.

They ran shoulder to shoulder, both trying to shove the other off to reach the ball first. As they approached the ball, Clarke dipped her shoulder to get lower than Emerson. She used that momentum to drive herself slightly in front of Emerson, then proceeded to slide her whole body in front of Emerson, collecting the ball.

Emerson was on her back, feet going wild as he tried to win the ball. Clarke managed to hold him off as Harper came to, calling for the ball. Clarke played her and yelled, “Up the line! Go Octavia!”

Harper turned on command and exploded up the field, initiating another quick counter attack. Emerson rushed after her, hoping to derail their plans. Just before he reached her, she played the ball wide to Miller.

Miller’s defender was right on him as he received the ball. He couldn’t advance so he found Bellamy’s feet as he checked over to him, opening space behind him. As he received the ball, he turned to face up.

Miller had run up the line, drawing his defender with him. Harper stayed behind him in case for support and the defensive line stayed back in position. He saw Octavia out of the corner of his eyes wide open.

He slowly dribbled away from her side of the field, hoping to create more space for her. Once he was confident in the space, he looked up to meet her eyes. He offered her a smile before passing her the ball.

Octavia trapped the ball and looked up to see the only Mount Weather player between her and the goal. Somehow, Emerson had switched with the usual outside midfielder on her side. He stood there, smirking as he watched her.

“Might as well as give me the ball now since I know you can’t beat me,” he mocked her.

She ignored it and looked back to Clarke. Clarke smiled at her and nudged her foot forward a bit. Octavia then looked to Lincoln, him giving her another smile of reassurance. Finally, her eyes landed on her father.

Marcus was watching her, his own nerves getting the best of him. This was the moment. This moment would make or break the game. Octavia had never been successful before in a 1v1, let alone against Emerson.

But did that mean Marcus didn’t believe she could do it? Hell no, he had confidence she would surprise herself and beat him.

He offered his best reassuring smile and nodded towards the goal. Octavia’s eyes found the goal, ignoring whatever was coming out of Emerson’s mouth. She immediately began making connections.

The goal was the safe zone, she was the remaining minnow, and Emerson was the last shark. She needed to get past him to reach the safe zone.

Still not listening to the bullshit spewing from his lips, Octavia charged forward, determined to get into that safe zone. Emerson was initially shocked by her confidence but just as quickly shook it off and ran towards her for a tackle.

Practice made perfect, right? Octavia had spent every day in her room, practicing the same move for ten minutes. She practiced the body movement, the ball control, and the foot movements. All her hard work would either pay off or be wasted.

“You got it, O,” Marcus whispered to himself. He felt a hand grab his and hold tightly. He squeezed Abby’s hand back as the two got closer.

As they neared each other, Octavia threw her left leg over the ball, faking that she was rolling it to her right side. Emerson fell for it, his front leg diving forward.

Octavia saw her opening and used the outside of her left foot to push the ball to the left, then quickly switched it over the ball. She one-touched it from there with the inside of her left foot between his legs that he created from his dive.

The ball traveled through as Octavia ran to the right of him. She met the ball on the other side of him, using her first touch to carry the ball forward into the space behind him. The safe zone was right in front of her now.

She dribbled towards it, Marcus’ heart pounding in his chest. Time slowed as Octavia wound up for a shot as Mount Weather’s goalie crept out of the goal slightly.

Her right leg came down and her foot came in contact with the ball. The ball sailed through the air, going straight for its target. Their goalie dived for it, the ball skimming his fingertips.

It did nothing to stop the ball as it stayed on path towards the safe zone. Soon enough, the ball passed into the safe zone, falling to the ground in the back of the goal. The Delinquents finally, for the first time in either coaches’ history, took the lead on Mount Weather. It was 4-3 favoring the Delinquents.

Screams erupted everywhere- from the bench, the sideline, and the field. Abby and Marcus looked to each other in shock and then back to the field as Alie blew her whistle to signal the goal. As she did, she looked to the watch on her wrist.

Abby felt what she was certain were symptoms of a heart attack as she watched Alie examine her watch. It was the same feeling she had gotten when the Delinquents were seconds away from their first win. Now, they were seconds away from winning the championship.

She felt the hand already in hers tighten and start to shake. Hell, even Marcus was nervous. Abby didn’t have to turn to see he was watching Alie with the same intensity.

After the quick glance at her watch, Alie blew an extra two whistles, signaling the end of the game.

_Holy. **Shit.**_

They did it. Like, they _actually_ did. The Delinquents _won_. They defeated Mount Weather.

Was Abby dreaming? Did she have to pinch herself to make sure this was real life? She didn’t have to do any of that. The scene that erupted around her gave her confirmation enough.

Screams, louder than those from the winning goal, roared into her senses. The kids on the bench who weren’t hurt ran onto the field and joined a growing dogpile on Octavia that her brother had started. The injured kids on the bench screamed and celebrated with each other, throwing their ice packs in the air. Parents were out of their seats and jumping around and high-fiving each other.

How did one react to such a win? Abby had won, but never against Mount Weather, let alone a championship. She settled for joining in on the screaming that grew after Alie signaled the end of the game.

 _Shit_ , it felt so _good_. It was only mere seconds after the final whistle but Abby felt a wave of emotions overcoming her- happiness, relief, shock, but most importantly, pride. She was so proud of the kids and the man still holding her hand like it was his lifeline.

It was a moment Abby was sure she wouldn’t forget. The feel of adrenaline rushing through her veins from every goal, the surge of pride she felt when every delinquent did something right, the sense of home she felt as the final whistle blew, like their little family had finally reached the end of their journey.

And at the end of that journey, one they all fought through Hell in, was happiness. It was everywhere around her at the moment she noticed while she continued screaming along with the parents. During the chaos, she took the time to examine the scene before her.

All thirteen delinquents were together, screaming just as loud and dumping water on each other as the reality of their game became _real_. The underdogs were champions, _they_ were champions. Had you asked any of them at their first practice when Marcus had lost control of the kids if they thought they’d be standing where they were today as champions, Murphy probably would’ve laughed in your face and told you when Raven actually made a good defensive decision, _maybe_ they would have a small chance. Following suit, Raven would’ve probably snapped back about Murphy actually contributing to the team with something other than red cards.

Abby probably would’ve agreed too, if she was honest. Even if that was their answers, they would’ve came true _and_ it would’ve produced the same results. They were champions.

Then there was the parents. Cece and Roan, who were at each other’s throats before this season, we’re embracing as they celebrated. The team dads had pulled out the snacks they prepared in celebration, high-fiving each other. Abby even thought she saw her favorite vodka. Jaha and Jackson watched on with big smiles.

And then there was the man holding her hand.

Abby couldn’t find the words in her heart to express what she thought of that man. All she knew was that it felt right to be holding his hand, it felt right to be here in this moment with him, and it felt right to consider him a part of her happiness.

Not your typical definition of happiness, was it? Abby didn’t care. If you gave her a dictionary to read the actual textbook definition of happiness, Abby would have shown you the textbook definition of “fuck off” by throwing the book back at your face.

The kids, the parents, and that man. That was the definition of her happiness. It was the happiness at the end of their journey and she would be damned if it were anything else.

The two coaches casted a quick glance at each other, promising to come back to the other soon, before unlatching their hands. But before their hands could separate, Marcus had squeezed her hand as a small congratulations. In response, Abby offered him a genuine smile before turning and running off to her daughter.

She ran out to her daughter and picked her up in a hug, spinning her around slightly. Clarke laughed along with her mother as she put her down. Both were grinning big as they watched each other.

“You did it,” Clarke told her mom.

Abby immediately shook her head. She corrected her, “ _We_ did it, Clarke. _We_ did.”

Clarke smiled as they both looked around the field in awe. As their glances landed on each other again, they both laughed and hugged each other close. How the _fuck_ did they pull that off? Abby couldn’t answer the question right now, but she wasn’t going to question it.

As Abby ran over to her daughter, Marcus ran over to where Bellamy was hugging his sister. He scooped them both into a huge hug, both screaming in surprise.

After a bit, Marcus let them go and smiled big as they turned to look at him. Marcus ruffled Bellamy’s hair and told them, “I’m so proud of you.”

Bellamy responded, “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Marcus smiled down to his son and ruffled his hair once more. “You’re getting too soft,” he teased him as Bellamy shoved his hand away from his hair.

Octavia’s laugh in response drew his attention to her. He offered her a whole new grin, one full of pride. He cupped her cheeks with his hands and told her, “And you? I’m so fucking proud of you.”

She said nothing as she smiled back up to her and reached out and hugged him tightly. He laughed a bit and hugged her closer. God knows how they pulled off the miracle, but they did it, and Marcus wasn’t going to second guess that.

Raven came running over and pulled at Octavia’s hand, trying to bring her over to where the rest of her teammates were. She looked back to Marcus when he let her go. He winked and told her, “Go have fun. You deserve it.”

Octavia smiled again and didn’t say anything as she ran off with Raven to where the Delinquents were gathering and cheering. Marcus watched as he crossed his arms, a smile forming on his lips. Even though the only kids he had on the team were Bellamy and Octavia, he felt responsible for them all. He felt like a proud father of all ten of them.

“Way to go, Coach.”

Marcus’ attention was drawn away from the kids and to the newcomer who now stood beside him. He cracked a smile and told her, “I could say the same to you.”

Abby cracked a smile back in response as they both focused on the kids. Abby felt pride swelling in her chest as she watched them celebrate.

“We actually did it,” she thought aloud.

He looked to her out of the corner of his eye, saying, “We did it.”

It was silent between them before they both suddenly laughed. Their situation wasn’t funny but for some reason they couldn’t help but laugh.

Abby whipped a tear from her eye as she said, “Like, we actually fucking did that. We _won._ ”

“Doesn’t feel real,” Marcus chuckled as his own laughter died down.

“It doesn’t?” She asked, “How about now?”

“Ow!”

Marcus’ arm flinched away from Abby’s guilty fingers. She had pinched him, _again_. There was a playful challenge in her eyes as she watched him jump back.

He rubbed his arm as he shook his head at her. “You’re a pain in the ass,” he told her.

“You wouldn’t want me any other way.”

Marcus couldn’t argue that. This was the Abby he liked. This was the Abby he started to fall for. This was the Abby he had kissed in the hallway at his home. This was the Abby he had coached the Delinquents to victory with.

In her eyes, many emotions were swirling about. He could pick out the playful challenge he loved, he saw the pride in the kids shining bright, and he picked up on a hint of something more that was directed at him. Whatever it was, it made his heart skip a beat.

How had this woman, one he couldn’t stand to hear her name only a few months ago, found her way into his heart? Not only did she invade his heart, she landed permanent residence there. No matter how hard he tried (like he would even try), her stubborn ass wouldn’t leave.

The look in her eyes, it resembled that feeling. It was a striking realization. Abby didn’t want to leave and he didn’t want her to. She had found home in his heart and he was finding his home in hers.

She had been right back at Applebess; he was lucky to have her.

Silence fell between them once again, but it was comfortable. Soon, Abby’s eyes found their way to Mount Weather’s bench. A lot of the kids and parents had left and made their way to the ceremony tent already. However, Cage was sitting on the bench, staring into nothing as realization dawned on him.

She thought aloud again, saying, “Once his team leaves, we’ll have odd numbers in the league again.”

Marcus knew where her train of thought was going. He had thought of that too when they first made the bet. However, different from then, he didn’t want that outcome anymore. He said her thoughts, “Pike will offer to split our team up again.”

Silence fell between them. It was what each one wanted the moment Pike told them he was merging their team. Now, neither thought it was a reasonable option.

When they looked over to the kids, it solidified that. They were intermingling with each other; once enemies in the past, they were family now. How could one break up a family?

Abby chuckled and said, “That was supposed to be an easy decision.”

Marcus looked down to her, asking, “Is it still not?”

She looked up to him and shrugged, saying, “It is, but if you had told me the day we merged our teams that I would later want to keep coaching with you, I would call you crazy.”

Marcus laughed. He didn’t blame her thoughts, the circumstances would’ve been the same for him. He told her, “It _was_ supposed to be the worst thing,” remembering that the whole idea of them merging was Cage’s ploy to tear their teams apart.

“But was it?”

Marcus fell silent as his eyes found hers again. The playful laughter was gone, a small serious edge clipping her words. In her eyes, he found her searching for the truth.

So, that’s what he gave her. He confessed, “No, it was the best thing.”

She didn’t need to respond, the same answer reflecting in her eyes. As if spoken on both ends, he reached down to cup her cheek as she her hands reached up to rest on his chest. Both of their heads moved together and their lips met in the middle.

They let their lips do the talking, but without the words. No words needed to be spoken. They both understood each other without them.

The kiss spoke about the past, the present, and what the future would hold.


	22. A happy beginning is now ours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is it,,,the final whistle. enjoy!

“ _Come on_ ,” Abby whined, “you won’t even try one?”

“ _No_ ,” Marcus repeated for the tenth time. Or was it his twelfth time rejecting it? He had lost count around the sixth time Abby offered him a pickle.

“But _why_?”

“You know _why,_ ” he mocked her, stretching the last word as she did.

She glared back at him as she took the pickle she had been offering him and ate it. One day she would get him to eat one.

As Abby munched on her pickle, she sat back in the chair she was seated in. She was currently sitting at the long picnic table on Marcus’ back porch beside Marcus.

Every year, after the championships, Pike would host a small end of the year party for each age group. The champions got to choose where the party was held. Marcus and Abby had chosen his house instead of the fancy country club the Wallaces chose every year.

Everyone hated the food there. This year, Marcus had volunteered to cook up hamburgers and hotdogs if everyone pitched in donations for main meals, snacks, and drinks. Everyone happily obliged except Cage of course.

Heaven forbid he _actually_ put forth effort into the party instead of focusing all that effort into choosing which ridiculous suit to wear. That was another reason everyone hated going to the country club; you had to dress semi-formal. Abby really just wanted to be barefoot with a Mike’s Hard Lemonade in her hand.

And that was exactly what she was doing, plus the pickle in her other hand.

Everyone had just finished eating their main meal and now everyone was relaxing and socializing. The kids were either playing, eating more dessert, or swimming.

Marcus and Abby stuck to sitting at the table, people watching.

Currently, Clarke, Lexa, and Wells sat on the grass, watching as Bellamy and Lincoln wrestled each other, trying to throw the other in the pool. Even with a cast on, Lincoln seemed to be winning. Miller was in the pool, cheering them on. Harper, Monty, Gaia, and Jasper were all around the dessert table, piling up their plates. Murphy was distracting his father as Raven and Octavia snuck up behind him, pouring salt in his lemonade.

When Jaha grabbed it and took a drink of it, he immediately spit it out. The trio burst into laughter and ran away as Jaha started after them.

Abby smiled. It was a content scene all around them. Players from other teams came and went as the day dragged on. A lot of the other teams had left once the main meal was served, but others stayed and socialized with the Delinquents’ parents and players.

Expecting it at one point, Abby noticed as the Wallaces made their way to where the duo was sitting. Dante sat down across from them, but Cage stayed standing. His father looked up to him and instructed him, “Sit down.”

Abby and Marcus glanced at each other for a second, chuckling under their breath. As Cage sat down, in his white suit covered in a floral design might Abby add, Dante offered them a small smile. He told them sincerely, “I just wanted to tell you congrats.”

Abby smiled in response. If she had to pick a better of the two, she would choose Dante. He was an ass like his son, but he at least knew how to admit defeat- unlike his son who was now pouting like a child who was dragged to the grocery store against his will.

“Thank you,” Marcus responded, “that means a lot.”

Dante’s smile grew a bit and he looked to his son. He told them, “Cage also had something he wanted to tell you.”

Abby’s eyebrows shot up at that. She was curious to hear what he had to say, both of them were. Before he could speak, however, Abby asked, “Are you going to ask me if it’s a great day for soccer, Cage?”

His not so nice glare in response gave her the answer of a resounding “no”. She answered him back anyways by telling him, “Don’t worry, my answer hasn’t changed- every day is a great day for soccer.”

The rage in his eyes at her mockery was burning as hot as the day’s temperature. Abby was unbothered by it though. Abby was living for this moment. She had been waiting for it all season, hell, probably for five years after their first meeting.

Dante chuckled in response to Abby and shook his head. He told her, “No, he has something more to tell you.”

The two got serious as they adjusted their attention to Cage. Cage watched them both and he mumbled something under his breath.

Abby, clearly enjoying this too much, cupped her ear and leaned over the table slightly. “What? I didn’t hear you.”

She could feel the burn of his glare on the side of her head. She couldn’t care less. She was going to be an ass to him like he had been to her the past five years at every end of the year party. Karma was a bitch.

He spit out through gritted teeth, “I said congrats.”

Abby put her hand down, smirking a tad as she turned to face him again. She told him, “And now in a sincere tone?”

He flinched, opening his mouth slightly to retort, but Dante held a hand up to stop his son. Dante didn’t look mad at Abby. He seemed to be thinking the same thing- Cage deserved it.

Abby: 1  
Cage: 0

He put his hand down and told the two, “I know the history between us hasn’t been the most favorable, but _I_ will give respect when it is due. You did one hell of a job coaching those kids.”

Both Abby and Marcus looked to each other a bit surprised. They had expected the congrats as Abby had said before, Dante was reasonable to an extent. Neither had expected a compliment out of him.

“Even though,” he added as an afterthought, “you had those three Grounders to give you a small boost at the beginning.”

There it was. There was the typical Wallace they knew and hated.

Abby acted like she didn’t hear the last part and offered him a smile. She told him, “Thank you, Dante. Those five years might’ve drove me up the wall, but it was fun facing you over those years.” It took a lot of her strength to not add, “No thanks to your son’s illegal dabbling in the league,” but she figured she would be civil to Dante if he continued to be civil with her.

Marcus smirked to himself, his hand finding Abby’s under the table. He gave it a small squeeze before adding her thoughts aloud anyways, “Your son’s plan to destroy us almost worked, but the challenge of finding who we really can be as coaches and persevering through was worth it.”

Cage’s attention snapped to Marcus then, a sneer on his lips. Marcus pointedly ignored him as Dante chuckled. He replied, “I’m glad you took something out of it. I know I did- never underestimate the enemy.”

Abby grinned and nodded in agreement. She told him, “Make sure you take that advice into your new league.”

The jab was meant for Cage and Abby silently high-fived herself when she saw him stiffen after the words left her lips.

Abby: 2  
Cage: 0

Dante nodded and looked to his son, telling them, “I’m sure we will.” Cage offered no words as Dante stood up, signaling that they were leaving. He added, “Good luck next season, hopefully you’ll do just as good.”

Good? That was it? Abby thought they did _amazing_ , like **_fucking amazing_**. But then again, this _was_ a Wallace they were receiving a compliment from. It was like receiving a compliment from Jaha- rare.

Abby offered the two another smile as both were now standing. She told Dante, “Thanks, good luck to you as well. Have fun being the underdogs.”

Dante just chuckled in response and turned to walk away. Cage offered no sincere congrats or well wishes for the next year as they began to walk away. Being Abby, she had to get the last word in, and called out after them, “And Cage?”

He turned to face her, face showcasing his annoyance. She gave him one of his signature smirks and told him, “Go fuck yourself.”

His façade broke immediately and he raised a finger, ready to yell back, but his father grabbed his arm and made him turn away from them. Abby was pretty sure she heard Dante telling him something along the lines of, “Not like you didn’t deserve it.”

Abby: 3  
Cage: 0

Abby loved winning. Smiling triumphantly, she leaned back in her chair, tipping her Mike’s Hard to her lips, taking a long drink. As she set it down, she let out a long and loud sigh of content. She could get used to this.

The hand in her hand moved to rest on her thigh, drawing her attention to Marcus. He offered her a small smile, but it was full of pride, adoration, and love. His eyes offered the same.

Oh yeah, Abby could definitely get used to this.

A new figure replaced the empty space the Wallace boys had left behind, drawing their attention away from each other. Indra sat across the two and offered them a raised eyebrow as she cracked open a beer. “Do I need to worry about finding you two fornicating?”

Abby’s mouth dropped open at Indra’s icebreaker while Marcus burst into laughter. This was the second time Indra had caught Abby off guard, the other time being when she had walked in on them in the hallway.

Indra: 2  
Abby: 0

Marcus’ laughter died off and he leaned over the table, winking, and told Indra, “Maybe later in the night.”

Indra faked throwing up, making Marcus laugh more. Abby still was wordless as she watched Indra take a long drink of her beer. As she set the bottle down, she told the two, “Just try to make it to the bedroom this time.”

Marcus’ laughter grew as Abby hid her face in her hands. Marcus’ hand on Abby’s thigh gave her a small squeeze as he replied to Indra, “No promises.”

Indra rolled her eyes as she took another drink of her beer. They trio fell silent for a while as they watched the kids. Breaking the silence, Indra suddenly told them, “I’m actually really proud of you.”

The two looked to each other, confused, and looked back to Indra as she turned to focus back on them. Abby asked, “For what?”

“For doing what I told you to do,” Indra replied with a dry tone. She took another drink before adding more seriously, “You actually put your differences to the side and overcame all the difficulties you created. You learned from each other and got your shit together, literally at the last minute, and coached those kids to victory.”

Abby felt herself smiling as Indra spoke. She looked over to Marcus to see the same smile on his face. He also looked over to her and gave her thigh another small squeeze. They really did it. Somehow, someway, they did it.

Indra added in at the last second, “And you defeated those assholes.”

The duo laughed in response as they all lifted their drinks, Abby saying, “I’ll drink to that.”

They all clinked their bottles together and took a long drink each. As they set their bottles down, it fell silent between them again. Marcus drew patterns on her thigh as they all watched the kids in the swimming pool. Bellamy was currently throwing a football into the pool as Miller tried to catch it while jumping in.

It didn’t end well and proved Bellamy should stick to a foot sport as his aim was terribly off and the football sailed over Miller’s head. Miller fell into the water empty handed and the football sailed over to where Jasper was chilling on the edge with his feet in the water. He wasn’t paying attention until the ball hit the plate of desserts he was holding, scattering them everywhere.

Abby automatically laughed in response as Jasper raced to pick the food up. Monty was too busy laughing beside him to help. Gaia had grabbed the football and threw a perfect spiral back to Bellamy, who caught it with ease.

Murphy, who was sitting on the edge besides Bellamy, told him, “Damn Bell, she’s better at soccer _and_ football than you.”

He barely finished the sentence before Bellamy shoved him off the edge and into the pool. Murphy screamed, still fully clothed, as he went under. Wells, who was safe on the grass with Clarke and Lexa, was laughing his ass off.

Indra suddenly broke the silence at the table by telling the two, “Thank you.”

Abby’s laughter died down as Marcus asked, “For what?”

Looking back to them, she offered them a genuine smile. She explained, “For letting the kids join your team. They truly enjoyed every part of it.”

They smiled back, eyeing each other for a short second. Abby told her honestly, “And we enjoyed having them. They can play with us next year if they’d like to.”

Indra grinned and admitted, “Actually, I was talking with Pike earlier, and with the sudden departure of Mount Weather from the league, there’s an opening for another team to come. Of course, he was going to offer to split your teams again first.”

The two looked to each other, but they knew the answer well before that. Looking back to Indra, Marcus told her, “We’re going to keep coaching together.”

Indra looked between the two for a moment. She told them, “Well, then you better be prepared when the Grounders come for that crown.”

Abby’s eyebrows raised up, asking, “You think you can get a team together again?”

Indra smiled a bit, saying, “Pike said my time slots were open now and all I needed to do was field a team. It all depends, but I may be able to rebuild the Grounders.”

Marcus smiled at her, telling her, “That’s great, but we’ll be ready to defend our crown.”

Indra smirked as she stood up, emptying the last of her beer. “Well then,” she said, “I better go tell Pike it’s a deal then, huh? Can’t let you get too cocky, now can I?”

The duo smirked and looked at each other before looking back to Indra. She looked between the two before laughing a bit. She shook her head as she turned, walking away. She mumbled aloud, “Oh Lord, what have I done…”

Abby chuckled as she finished off the last of her Mike’s Hard. She set the bottle down and looked over to Marcus, seeing him watching her. Sher raised an eyebrow, asking, “What?”

He was silent for a while before he asked, “No matter who wears the coach label, we’re in this together, right?”

She grinned, heart fluttering the slightest bit. She reached up, cupping his cheek gently as her fingers slowly moved through his beard. She felt content when she felt him lean into her touch. She told him, “Always.”

He grinned as he leaned down, placing a soft and slow kiss on her lips. It couldn’t compare to the kiss in his hallway, or the one up against the concession’s wall, or the one after the championship game. This one solidified them as one, that no matter what, they _were_ in this together.

As they pulled apart, Abby let her hand fell through his beard once more. Under her fingertips, she felt _that_ smirk form on his lips. He whispered to her, “You were such a bad liar about hating my beard.”

“Besides the razor stealing?”

He chuckled slightly. “Yes,” he told her, “besides that.”

Humor danced in both of their eyes and she questioned him, “Care to enlighten me?”

That smirk grew as his hand slowly traveled up her thigh, lightly leaving sparks behind. He whispered to her, “Your body language gave you away every time. When I asked if you wanted to run your hands through it, your body betrayed you. I saw the desire.”

Abby could feel her heartbeat in her ears, blood coursing through her veins at a high rate. She felt _hot_ and that _want_ was finding its way back into her body.

He inched closer to her, scooting forward from his chair, knees bumping hers. The contact sent an electric jolt from the point of contact throughout her body. His hand kept inching upwards, flames spreading like wildfire. He whispered, “I can see that same body language now. Do you want to run your hands through it now?”

The same thoughts and images she had when he initially asked re-entered her mind. Oh, _hell **yes**_ did she want to. However, they _did_ promise Indra to try and make it to the bedroom this time.

But by the way Marcus’ gaze held hers, how his grip on her upper thigh tightened, and how his tongue slowly licked his lower lip, Abby wasn’t sure she would make it inside. A for effort, right?

He offered her, “How about running it up other places?” as his hand skimmed the inner side of her thigh.

If Abby had thought she felt want before, then she couldn’t explain what she felt now. All she knew was that she wanted Marcus to shut the hell up and kiss her senseless. She wanted-

All hot images and thoughts of Marcus were soon washed away by freezing water being dumped all over her.

The two immediately jumped apart, the cold water shocking both. Abby was standing, stiff as the chill seeped into her bones. Soon enough, the laughter from the guilty duo rang in her ears. She turned around to see Raven and Octavia holding a big bucket, laughing.

Faking her anger, she yelled at the two, “That’s a mile run for both of you!”

The two stopped laughing as they looked to their coach. Octavia told her, “We’re twelve.”

“And season’s over,” Raven added on.

“You smartass-” Abby started to rant but a hand came over her mouth as an arm wrapped around her waist. It pulled her against an equally wet chest.

She heard Marcus behind her tell the kids, “Can never start preparation too early.”

The girls looked to each other before running off, giggling in the process. Abby freed herself from Marcus, spinning around to see him smiling down to her. He was soaked from head to toe, like she was.

“Well,” Abby spoke aloud, examining the way his wet shirt exposed his muscles, “maybe I should thank those girls instead.”

He laughed and reached out, tugging at her own wet shirt. He asked, “And when will you learn to not wear a hot pink bra with a white t-shirt?”

Abby looked down to examine her outfit to realize he was correct about her current wardrobe. She looked back up to him, challenging him, “The day you eat a pickle.”

He raised an eyebrow at that, a glint of playfulness flickering in his eyes. “So,” he asked, “never?”

She smirked and shook her head. He smirked _that_ smirk back and Abby embraced herself for a typical Marcus response. He asked her, remembering the other day at practice, “And are you gonna tell me, ‘Fuck you, Kane’, every time you do wear it?”

Humor and something more swam in his eyes. He had moved closer to her during the last few exchanges. She could feel the body heat he was radiating and she felt herself being drawn to it.

“Depends,” she answered, “are you going to kiss me every time I say it?”

“Oh,” he replied, taking a step closer, his voice dropping to a low tone, “I’ll do more than kiss you.”

That want soon found its way to back her and their gazes connected. Their eyes reflected the same want. The only thing blocking them was the few feet into the house.

Abby raised an eyebrow at him, asking, “Then what are you waiting for?”

“Those magic words,” he teased her.

She smirked more, taking the last step between them to close the space. She looked up to him, recognizing the familiar storm she had seen his eyes ages ago in his hallway. This time, however, she didn’t want to run from it. She wanted to drown in it, in _him_.

“Fuck you, Kane.”

“You wish,” came his automatic response as his arm wrapped around her waist. He pulled her close to his chest as he dipped his head down. She reached up, one hand curling in his wet shirt and the other founding its way into his wet hair.

Their lips collided, the storm claiming them both. The want, the need, the passion, and the love they held for each other held them down, dragging them deeper into the storm’s depth.

Throughout the games against each other, the merge, the tough losses together, the arguments over the formation, the bickering over sharks and minnows, the first win, the fallout, and claiming victory over Mount Weather, both would agree they were lucky to have each other throughout it all.

Ah, summer.

It was one Coach Griffin could finally say she enjoyed.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH k&s is officially complete! holy schnikes!!!
> 
> When I first started writing this story, never did I think of the love and support yall would have given it. SO THANK YOU!!!!!
> 
> All your kudos and comments mean sososososoososso much to me!! Without yall this story wouldn't have been the same. There aren't enough characters or words space to express all my gratitude I have for each and every one of you for reading.
> 
> Just like kabby and the delinquents, our journey has come to an end. Or has it? *insert eyes emoji*
> 
> See you on the other side, may we meet again
> 
> love,  
> Lindsay :)


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